One Step Closer
by skylight96
Summary: "Just you wait. I'll make your dream into a reality" Ryuuji Sakamoto was a young skater who was injured during the Grand Prix Final and had to pull himself out from the competition at the very last minute. Despite being told that his career was over, he keep on practicing, promising himself that one day, he'll finished what he'd started three years ago.
1. Prologue

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

.

 **PROLOGUE:**

.

The familiar feeling of coldness slowly seep into his clothes, wetting it as a deep breath of defeat emitted softly from his dried lips at his failure once again to complete his program for the tournament. A soft pale hand lifted up high into the air and blocked the shining spotlight from entering his sight as he gazed silently at his rough hand. _'Months'_ he thought as he closed his deep green eyes in shame, reminiscing his performing three years ago during the Grand Prix Final, _'I've been practise for months and still nothing...'_

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the sharp pain coming from his once broken ankle and pulled himself up from the icy floor, standing back onto his two feet with his eyes determined on his prize. A place once again in the Grand Prix Final. He took his stance once more and slowly closed his eyes, letting himself to sink deeply into the music playing inside his mind. The skater raised his head up and opened his deep green eyes to the world as he began to skate. He gracefully glided through the cold icy floor with a small genuine smile plastered upon his handsome face as he let the rhythm guided him through his moves.

Unknown by the skater, his performance was watched by millions after an unknown person uploaded his performance in the internet, making it viral. Despite a few mistakes here and there but still, it was beautiful to watch. The genuine contentment and joy of skating on his face managed to catch another skater's eyes as the person silently watched the video.

-.-.-

The sound of the bird chirping pulled the figure out from his dreamless sleep as he reluctantly pulled his blanket away from his head to look at the alarm clock standing proudly by his nightstand. He narrowed his blurry deep green eyes at the number figure plastered upon the clock and sighed as he got out from his bed to begin his day. _'Another day at the restaurant'_ he thought gloomily as he went into the bathroom. After spending about half an hour getting him ready for his work, he locked the front door of his apartment and put on his rollerblade as he skated to the restaurant.

He pulled out his iPod and clicked the button play as a beautiful melodies echoed softly inside his ears, emitted by his earphone. He skilfully dodged the people walking down the street and took a turn as he pulled himself into a stop at the front of a restaurant located not far from the ice rink where he usually practised after work. He stopped the music played by his iPod and slowly opened the door, greeting the owner with a small smile upon his youthful face, "Good Morning, Mr-"

His greeting was pulled into a stop as his eyes looked up meet a familiar looking man standing next to his boss. _'Viktor Nikiforov'_ his mind whispered as he stood stiffly at the door of restaurant, surprised by the King of Figure Skate unexpected presence here by his workplace.

The said King turned around at the voice and looked up to see the person who caught his eyes. A big warm smile instantly appeared on the Number One Skater's face as he went up to him. He placed both of his hands firmly on the young man's shoulder and gave him a light squeeze in hope of snapping him away from his dazed as he looked deeply into his deep green eyes with his light blue ones, "Ryuuji," he said as he cupped the young man's face firmly, forcing him to meet the older man's youthful face, "starting today, I am your couch. I'll make you win the Grand Prix Final," he said, smiling widely.

The owner of the name blinked in disbelieved at the words and couldn't help but exclaimed, "WHAT?!" as he looked at the man as if he was crazy. Viktor chuckled and pulled the young man into a hug, saying, "Just you wait. I'll make your dream into a reality."

-.-.-


	2. Skate 1

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 1:

Beginning of an Ending

-.-.-

A deep sigh emitted from Ryuuji's lips as he sat on his windowsill, watching Viktor as he slept soundly on his couch in the middle of his living room. _'I still couldn't believe it'_ he thought as he turned his gazed outside of the window, gazing at the beautiful sight of the snow falling gently from the skies, _'Is this really happening? Or was it just some sick joke?'_

Sighing, he stood up from the windowsill and walked towards the TV to watch the news regarding a certain figure skater. He grabbed the remote from his coffee table and took a seat on the floor by the couch where Viktor was sleeping. Ryuuji turned the TV on and watched as a beautiful young reporter recited the big news.

"This just come in, there's big news from Russia today. The Famous King of Figure Skate, Viktor Nikiforov was reported to take a break for the next season..."

A hint of frown slowly appeared on his face as he turned the TV off, ignoring the speculation made for Viktor's sudden break before turning his face to the said man. He was surprised when he suddenly faces to faces with the Russian skater as Viktor silently gazed into his deep green eyes and slowly wrapped his arms around the young man, whispering, "I'm hungry," as his stomach growling at the lack of food.

A hint of sweat drop appeared on Ryuuji's face as he looked at the older man in disbelieved for his words, "Really?" he murmured as let himself being nuzzled by the Russian skater. Viktor pulled away from the warmth of Ryuuji's body and looked up at the young man with a big wide goofy smile upon his handsome face, "Ryuuji, as your coach, I'd like to know what your favourite food is," he said as he looked at his student expectedly.

Ryuuji sighed and gently pushed the man away as he stood up from the carpet floor, "Very well," he said reluctantly as he made his way towards the kitchen, "You might as well go and get yourself a bath. You stink."

Leaving the ex-skater behind, he folded his long sleeve to his elbows and began making dinner for him and his unexpected guest. _'Hmm... What should I make for dinner?'_ he thought as he browsed his fridge. Ryuuji picked a few items from the fridge and gently placed it on top of the counter, _'Maybe some fried rice, eggroll and miso soup, I guess.'_

"Ryuuji."

The owner of the name turned his head away from cooked miso soup on top of the stove and was surprised to see a wet half naked man standing in the middle of the kitchen. The clinking sound of the steel ladle hitting the pot echoed loudly inside the kitchen as a pair of deep green eyes gazed widely at Victor's appearance, "V-Victor" he stuttered, running his eyes up and down in disbelieve at his lean body with a hint of blush adorned on his apple cheek, "W-What are you doing standing half naked? You're gonna catch a cold," he scolded as he turned the stove off to give him his full attention.

Viktor shrugged and smiled nonchalantly as he ruffled his wet locks with his towel, "It's seems like I forgot to bring my pyjama with me," answered as he let the towel down onto his shoulder.

An animated sweat drop began to appear behind Ryuuji's head as he shifted his deep green orbs to the mountains of box towering near his front door, _'How can he forgot to bring his pyjama with those mountains of boxes?'_ he thought as he leaded the grey haired man towards his bedroom to find him his unused pyjama. He opened his wardrobe and shuffled through his clothes as he pulled out pale blue coloured pyjamas for the older man, "Here," he said, "I'll leave you to change."

A pair of light blue eyes watched as his so called protégée closed the door of his bedroom to give him some privacy before turning his attention to the pictures and trophies standing proudly on the shelves next to the wooden wardrobe. Viktor walked towards the shelves and browsed through the trophies to see his student's achievement, _'Not bad,'_ thought the legendary figure skater as he looked at the numbers of trophies he owned. The Russian skater turned his eyes at the picture frames standing beside the trophies and couldn't help but noticed how young he was when he first won the National Junior Ice Skating Championship. A hint of smile appeared on his face as he took the frame to get a closer look on his student's face.

There were three people standing on top of the podium. As expected, his soon-to be student, Ryuuji Sakamoto was the winner of the championship. The mix-blooded Japanese stood proudly between his competitors with a golden medal in his hand. A pure genuine smile adorned beautiful on his young face as he wrapped his arm around his partner, Yuri Katsuki if he wasn't mistaken, who was in the second place.

Placing the picture back to its original place, Viktor put on the given pyjamas on and walked out from the bedroom with a thoughtful look on his face. He had read the file about his soon to be protégé before he came here. Ryuuji Sakamoto, the so called Ice Prince, dubbed by his people for his breathtaking performance on ice. He was one of the most talented ice skaters in Japan and was nominated to the Grand Prix Final along with his partner, Yuuri Katsuki. But something happened. He suddenly withdrew from the competition, leaving Yuuri Katsuki in his place. They said that he had an accident a few days before the competition which ended his career as an ice skater.

' _I think I saw him once,'_ he thought as he entered the kitchen to find the said skater.

 _Flashback..._

" _I can't believe Yakov is making me practise again tonight. I need my beauty sleep before the Grand Prix Final" grumbled a young beautiful grey haired skater softly under his breath as he made his way through the stadium towards the ice rink._

 _The Russian skater ran his pale hand through his soft grey hairs and stopped suddenly outside of the door as a sound of soft music emitted from the other side of the door. Curious, Viktor slowly opened the door and looked up to see another man, probably somewhere around his age, skating beautiful within the ice rink, accompanied by nothing but the music played by his phone. He cautiously entered the rink and slowly made his way towards the audience seat, hoping to get a closer look on the skater as his deep sea blue eyes watched the skater glided gracefully on the pool of ice._

 _The full moonlight shined brightly through the large windows around the ice rink, giving it a dark magical atmosphere as it illuminated the skater. Viktor watched the skater with a pure genuine smile upon his lips as he saw him successful managed to conquer the quadruple flip, one of his signature move that he often used, 'Amazing,' thought Viktor as he watched the skater successful conquered another difficult moves and couldn't help but longed to skate along with him. As the music slowly started to slow down, the movement of the skater also began to slow, matching his every move along with music until the very note._

 _Silence began to fill the empty ice rink, as the skater stood up from his slight bow to his full height and slowly glided through the ice towards the entrance of the rink. He took a step onto the carpeted floor outside of the rink and made his way to the bench near the rink. Taking his shoes off, he decided to retire for the night as he promised his partner to have one final rehearsal tomorrow morning, unaware of the audience that he had ever since he started training alone in the night._

 _A pair of deep blue eyes watched as the skater slowly disappeared behind the main door of the rink before making his way to ice rink himself for his training._

 _...End of Flashback_

Viktor stopped suddenly by the doorframe of the kitchen and couldn't help but silently watched as Ryuuji pulled out a pill container from the upper shelves, _'So, it's true,'_ thought Viktor as he watched him swallowed two pills of painkiller in hope of easing the throbbing pain on his once broken ankle, _'He's still injured,'_

A hint of movement out on the corner of his eyes caught Ryuuji's attention as he turned his head to his right to see Viktor stood silently by the doorframe of his kitchen, "Viktor," acknowledged the ex-skater to his presence as he placed his pill back onto the upper shelves, ignoring the burning blue eyes as he turned around to have a glass of water, "Is there something you need?," he asked as he filled his glass with some tap water.

Plastered a small polite smile upon his youthful face, Viktor shook his head and walked deeper into the kitchen for a glass of his own, "Nothing," he said as he stood beside the stiffing raven haired for a glass of water. He leaned back against the counter and silently watched him as he placed the miso soup into the bowls, "So, it's true then?" he murmured absentmindedly as he followed him out towards the dining room, "You were injured during the last season of the Grand Prix Final."

An uneasy awkward silence fill the air between them as Ryuuji placed the bowl onto the table and looked up to meet Viktor's light blue eyes with his deep green ones. A hint of shame and anger flashed briefly within his gaze as he sat down onto his chair, picking his chopstick up with a soft murmur of 'Itadakimasu.'

"Ryuuji..."

The owner of the name swallowed his eaten eggroll and couldn't help but released a deep sigh in defeat at the Russian's persistence as he looked up at his soon to be mentor, "Yes" admitted the so called Japanese Ice Prince reluctantly to the King of Figure Skate with his eyes gazed darkly into his cooked dinner, reminiscing the said memories as he told him about the accident, "I've broke my ankle during practise and the doctor told me that I'd probably unable to continue ice skating because of the constant strain on the muscle as well as the bones. So, with that I decided to retired from skating but I guess old habit dies hard," he chuckled with a small sad smile upon his face, "I'm still skating though, hoping that one day I'll finish what I've started three years ago," referring to his withdraw during the Grand Prix Final.

A small genuine smile slowly craved its way onto Viktor's lips at his determination and couldn't help but took the younger man's hand into his, squeezing it lightly with determination of his own swimming inside his pale blue eyes, "Then, it will be my duty to help you achieve your goal," he said, bringing the hand closely to lips as he gave him a soft chaste kiss upon his knuckle, promising the younger man that he would do anything to achieve his goal, "Together, we'll make history."

-.-.-


	3. Skate 2

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 2:

New Coach, Old Partner

-.-.-

"...iktor..."

"...ake..p...Viktor"

A pair of beautiful blue eyes slowly blinked itself to the world at the deep male voice entering his ears, waking him up from Morpheus' embrace as the owner of the said eyes looked up to see a handsome man with dark raven coloured hairs, pale white skin as well as a pair of deep green eyes hovered over him from the side of the bed. The handsome man leaned closer to his sleeping companion's face and couldn't help but poked the sleeper's cheek irritatingly, "Oi! Wake up, damnit!" he growled, taking the comforter away as his one last attempt in waking the sleeping skater up for breakfast.

The cold morning breeze instantly engulfed Viktor as he gasped in surprised at the sudden coldness touched his skin, "R-Ryuuji," he stuttered as he hugged himself, trying desperately to keep his body warm as he watched the younger man walked towards the wardrobe for a spare towel. Ryuuji pulled a fluffy white towel from the drawer and threw it to him with a frown upon his handsome face "I've already prepare a bath for you. So, go ahead and get yourself warm. We're going out today."

"Where are we going?" he asked as he slowly climbed out from the comfy bed with the large white towel given by the owner of the apartment in his hand. He turned his deep blue eyes to the side of the bed and couldn't help but noticed the folded futon as well as his mountain of boxes on the side of the medium sized room.

"Sight-seeing."

Viktor pulled his attention away from the boxes and looked up to meet a pair of deep green eyes with his blue ones, "It's the first time you've been in Japan right?" Ryuuji asked, watching the Russian man closely before turning his gaze away towards the large window on the side of the room to see the bright clear blue skies outside, "Since I'm free for today. I thought I'd show you around Hasetsu," he shrugged with a small smile upon his handsome face, "So, you'd have something to do while I'm working for the day."

"Really?" beamed Viktor excitedly at the plan, hugging the towel closely against his chest as his mind began listing the places he wanted to visit during his stay here in Hasetsu. A soft chuckle softly emitted from the mix-blooded Japanese man at the pure excitement look upon his idol's face and nodded as he slowly made his way towards the door of the room, "So, hurry up and get dress," he said, "We'll be leaving after breakfast."

-.-.-

The sound of people chattering greeted the two men as they walked deeper into the shopping district, enjoying their morning walk together with Viktor's beloved dog, Makkachin trailing beside his owner. The smell of roasted buns and foods filled air around the couple as the beautiful gray haired man glanced around the market, watching the people walking by with nothing but pure smile adorned on his handsome face, "It's so lively here" he said to his companion which earned him a soft hum as well as an excited bark from his beloved dog as they walked along the pathway along the district.

"Ah!" Viktor gasped, surprised by the delicious smell of curry filled bun. He paused suddenly in the middle his track and slowly turned his attention to the small stall beside them. Hungry, the Russian ex-skater headed towards the said stall and greeted the owner of the stall, "Good morning," he smiled, "One curry filled bun please?"

Viktor paid the kind old man and turned around to face his student, smiling happily for his purchase as he made his way back to the dark raven haired man's side "Look, what I've got," he beamed as he spilt the bun in half and began to offer him the other half of the said bun, "Here," he said as he raised it close to the man's mouth, motioned for him to take a bite.

Ryuuji raised his eyebrows at the offer and shrugged as he leaned closer to the beautiful gray haired man, eating the offer bun from his hand. Chewing the offered bun, he wiped the crumbles on the edge of his lips with his fingers and motioned of the gray haired older man to follow him as they walked out from the shopping district to the Hasetsu Bridge, "And this is the Famous Hasetsu Bridge," explained the Japanese man to his companion as they stopped briefly at the middle of the bridge, giving the foreign man a few moment to enjoy the beautiful sea view in winter, "It was built somewhere around the early 1990-an as an alternative way to get from the mainland to the Hasetsu Island," he said while pointing towards the small island not far from where they were, "Before that, they would have to ride a ferry to get to the island."

"Wow..."

Viktor walked towards the concrete railing and leaned over it to get a closer look of the cold blue sea with his beloved dog in his warm embrace, "It's so beautiful, right Makkachin?" asked the owner to his pet which earned him an excited bark from the said dog. Pulling his phone out from the pocket of his trench coat, he gave the said gadget to the dark haired man and leaned back towards the railing, posing together with his dog, "Ryuuji, take my picture with Makkachin please!"

A soft exasperated sigh softly escaped from his lips as he raised the phone up and obediently took a picture of the famous skater with his pet. A soft glow from the sun behind him illuminated the standing figure which gave it a beautiful glow for a fabulous picture.

After taking a few pictures of the Russian ex-skater, Viktor took the phone back from the younger man and carefully shuffled through the pictures that he took as he tried to find the best picture for him to post on his instagram. He looked up at the dark haired man and couldn't help but raised his phone up to take a sneak picture of him. It was a picture of Ryuuji leaned back against the railing with his head turned sideways towards the Hasetsu Island, _'Beautiful,'_ thought the older man as he snapped it.

"Are you ready?"

Snapping his attention away from his thoughts, Viktor smiled at the taller man and nodded as they continued their morning walk towards the island. Ryuuji pushed his hand deeper into the pocket of his thick winter coat and looked up towards the old castle located in the heart of the island, "That's the Hasetsu's Castle," he said as he pointed towards the castle not far from where they were, "It was told to be a house of ninjas."

"Ninja?!" gasped the gray haired man in awed.

Ryuuji nodded, confirming that piece of information as he shielded his deep green eyes away from the glaring sun with his hand to admire the architecture of the old castle, "It was built long time during the Emperor Shuu's Dynasty," he continued, "It's act as the headquarter for the Emperor's guards."

A pure grin of excitement instantly make its way onto Viktor's face at the story as he wrapped his left arm around the taller dark haired man's shoulder, pulling him down to his level by a few centimetre with their back to the ancient castle, "Let's take a picture together!" he said, beaming as he pulled his phone out once again to take a picture of him and his companion in front the Hasetsu Castle.

A sharp whistle caught the poodle's attention away from the birds as Makkachin turned around to see his owner, "Come here, Makkachin! Jump on Ryuuji!" called the gray haired man to his dog. Makkachin barked in understand and instantly made his way back to his owner, jumping into the dark haired man's embrace as Ryuuji hoisted the dog up for a picture together.

Viktor stretched his right arm out in front of him and tilted his head slightly to Ryuuji, leaning his cheek against his with a big smile upon his youthful face. Ryuuji glanced briefly at gray haired man for his sudden closeness and looked up at the camera with a soft smile upon his face with Makkachin in his arm. Snapping a picture of it, Viktor pulled away his arm away the dark haired man and couldn't help but grin at the perfect picture, "I'm going to post this," he said, posting the said picture onto his instagram.

A deep sigh in defeated softly emitted from Ryuuji's lips as he put the dog down onto the ground, earning himself a bark of thanked from the poodle as he turned his gaze to the gray haired man, "Viktor," called the mix-blooded Japanese out to the Russian, "Come on, there are still more places to visit."

"Okay!"

With that, the two men and a poodle walked their way down the hill, talking among themselves about the history of Hasetsu as they headed towards the big building located on not from the Hasetsu Castle, "That's the Ice Castle," Ryuuji said as he motioned towards the large building before them, "It's the only ice rink here in Hasetsu. I used to skate there when I was a kid."

Opened the front door for Viktor and his dog, the dark haired man walked deeper into the building to the front desk and looked over the counter to find the owner of the ice rink, "Yuu-chan? Takeshi-kun?" called the deep green eyed man out to one of his childhood friends with a hint of frown upon his face at their absence at the counter, "Are you there?"

A moment of silence answered his call before a tall bulky dark haired man slowly appeared from corner of the room to see the speaker. A hint of surprise appeared on the man's face at his presence which quickly turned into happiness as he went up to welcome the older man, "Ryuuji-senpai!" greeted the one called Takeshi to his older friend as he hugged him, "It's good to see you again. I thought you were at work."

"I should but I get a day off," answered the mix-blooded Japanese nonchalantly to his kouhai's question with a shrug as he pointed towards the gray haired skater behind him, "So, I thought I would show this guy around Hasetsu."

Takeshi shifted his dark gaze away from his senior and was stunned to see the famous Russian skater standing behind the deep green eyed man, "I-Is That?" he stuttered, choking on his saliva as he shakily pointed towards the man and his dog.

"Hello," Viktor smiled, beaming as he went up to the frozen man with Makkachin by his side, "I'm Viktor Nikiforov. Ryuuji's coach," he said as he shook the Japanese's hand with his pale ones.

"C-Coach?"

Blinked, the owner of the ice rink turned his attention back to his friend and couldn't help but gasped in awed as well as excitement at the thought of seeing his friend skating again after the injuries he had three years ago, "Are you coming back, Ryuuji-senpai?" he asked, gripping the man's shoulder tightly with a hopeful look upon his face, "Are you skating again?"

Ryuuji silenced, debating whether to agree or not on his words as he turned over his shoulder to look at his so-called coach. Seeing the look on his protégé's face, Viktor nodded, giving his full support to the dark haired man as he turned his attention back to his friend, "Yes," answered the once skater with a confident smile adorned on his lips, "And I'm going to win it."

Takeshi's dark orbs instantly watered at the determination swirling inside his deep green eyes and couldn't help but hugged the older man once again in relief, "Welcome back, Ryuuji-senpai!" he grinned as he pulled the said man into the rink, "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet. You too, Nikiforov-san."

A smaller hand instantly attached itself onto Ryuuji's wrist as he turned around briefly to see Viktor trailing behind him with Makkachin, joining both of him and his childhood friend as they entered the ice rink. The familiar sound of slashing ice caught both of the skaters' attention as they paused at the entrance of the rink to see a skater performing Viktor's Stay Close to Me program.

"Is that?" murmured Ryuuji as his eyes widened in surprised at the skater. It was none other than his old time partner, Yuuri Katsuki. Takeshi nodded and pushed the older man forward, saying, "Yeah, he just come back three days ago. You should go and meet him, Ryuuji-senpai. I'm sure he's excited to see you again!"

Stumbled slightly by the push, Ryuuji pulled himself up to his full height and turned his deep green gaze to his coach with a small anxious smile, "Coming?" he asked him as he walked down the path towards the ice rink to meet Yuuri. A hint of nostalgia instantly hit the ex-skater as he watched his ex-partner skated gracefully on the ice.

 _Flashback..._

 _A fifteen years old dark haired teenage stood patiently by the side of the rink, watching the lone skater as he tried once again to do the triple axel. A loud thumping sound caught the older boy's attention away from his thought as he quickly made his way through the ice for the fallen skater, "Yuuri, are you alright?" he asked as he leaned down onto the ice to get a closer look on his younger friend._

 _The thirteen years old boy moaned, shivered at the sharp coldness on his bottom as he looked up at the older boy, embarrassed by his failure once again, "Y-Yeah," he stuttered as Yuuri took the offered hand from the older boy, pulling himself up from the icy ground onto his shaky feet._

" _It's alright. You'll get it next time," smiled the older boy as he patted his back, encouraged him to never give up as they both made their way back to the rink entrance. Yuuri took a step out onto the carpeted floor and turned around to the older boy, pouting as he played with a lose thread on his white jacket, "But Ryuu-nii, I want to do it before you leave for your training this Saturday," he murmured, looking up into those pair of deep green eyes with sadness inside his dark ones._

 _Touched by his kouhai's words, an affectionate smile instantly craved its way onto the older boy's lip as he ruffled the boy's dark hairs, "It's alright, Yuuri. I'll wait for you," he said, pulling his hand back to his side as he made his way back into the ice rink, "How about I show the program I've learned?" asked the dark haired teenager as he skated gracefully into the centre of the ice rink with his phone in his hand, shuffling through the music in his playlist to find a suitable song for his routine._

 _As the song started to play, Ryuuji placed his phone inside his pocket and slowly skated around the rink, following the smooth R &B rhythm as he took his stance for the triple axel. The sound of slashing ice accompanied him as he made the jump, spinning three times within the air before landed perfectly on his feet as he glided through the icy floor. He lifted his arms up and did the Ina Bauer as well as Spread Eagle, spreading his arms as if he was waiting for an embrace. _

_Gliding through the ice, he took his stance and did the Triple Lutz Triple Toe, earning a loud gasp of awe from Yuuri as he watched the older boy. Ryuuji smiled and did his combination spins, doing the Scratch spins before slowly turned it into Sit spins then Corkscrew spins. Exiting the spins, he did a backwards crossover in attempt of taking some speed for his next jump and did the famous Quadruple flip._

 _Yuuri gasped once again at the difficulty and couldn't help but leaned forwards over the barrier to get a closer look on his older friend. The sound of slashing ice answered the younger boy's question whether or not Ryuuji managed to conquer the jump as a pair of dark orbs gleamed brightly at the skater, clapping his hands as he cheered the older boy._

 _Panted heavily, Ryuuji tiredly made his way to the exit and couldn't help but grinned as he caught the flying boy, "Ryuu-nii! You made it!" he beamed, twitching energetically as he continued talking about his jump. Ryuuji laughed it out and ruffled his dark hairs affectionately as he listened to him rambling._

 _... End of Flashback_

"Ryuu-kun!"

A soft feminine voice snapped the owner of the name away from his memory lane as he turned to his side to see none other than Yuuko with her triplet by her side near the entrance of the rink. Plastered a smile upon his face, he walked up to the beautiful woman and couldn't help but pulled her into a warm hug, greeting her before turning his attention briefly to the oblivious skater within the rink.

"Hey! Aren't you Viktor Nikiforov?"

A small smile instantly adorned on the dark haired man's lips as he shifted his deep green gaze back to the mother and her triplet to see them gasping and stuttering in awe at the gray haired man standing beside him.

Smiled charmingly to the girls, Viktor nodded, confirming it as he placed his left arm around the dark haired man's shoulder, "That's right," he said, pulling Ryuuji closer to his side, "and I'll be coaching Ryuuji from now on. Please take care of me," he bowed.

"Ryuu-nii?"

The sound of slashing ice caught their attention away from the silver haired man as they turned around to see Yuuri stood stiffly at the entrance of rink. A pair of deep brown eyes looked up at the men standing by his childhood crush, stunned by their presences as he step out of the rink to greet his senior, "Ryuu-nii," he said, putting on the guards on his skates as he made his way to the older man, "It's been a while."

Ryuuji took a step away from Viktor's side and couldn't help but greeted the younger man with a big warm hug, "Yuuri, it's nice to see you again," he smiled as he pulled himself away to get a closer look on the young man's face.

Yuuri smiled in returned and turned his dark gaze to the side to greet the other man stood beside his once partner in figure skating. A loud gasp of surprised instantly emitted from him as his pair of brown orbs widened in disbelieved to see none other than his own idol, the Famous King of Skate, Viktor Nikiforov.

Seeing the attention he received from the young man before him, the gray haired man smiled and lifted his hand to shake his, "Hello," he greeted the shorter man, "It's a pleasure to finally meet the former partner of my student."

"S-Student?"

"That's right," Viktor smiled, "I'm Ryuuji's coach"

"WHAT?!"

-.-.-


	4. Skate 3

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 3:

Unexpected Arrival

-.-.-

On the other side of the world, a young skater with a name of Yuri Plisetsky, who had just finished his training, looked down onto his phone and couldn't help but let out a soft gasp in surprised at the picture posted inside the social network. A pair of deep blue eyes instantly narrowed at the said picture as the skater took his bag pack from the bench by the ice rink, packing all of his things as he made his way out from the training centre, "That stupid old geezer!" Yuri hissed, heading towards the dorm in attempt of packing his bag as quick as possible and made his way to Japan to drag a certain skater back to their homeland.

-.-.-

"I'm home..."

The sound of opened wooden sliding door echoed softly within the silence as a dark haired young man entered his family's inn along with his guests. Closing the door behind them, Yuuri took off his shoes and leaded the two men deeper into the inn to meet his mother, "Okaasan, I bring guests" he said, smiling as he went up to help his mother who was holding a tray of food for the customers within the main dining area. The two men entered the large Japanese traditional room and couldn't help but glanced around the room to see the number of people inside the dining area.

Hiroko smiled at her ever helpful son and turned her equally dark brown gaze to her son's guests, "Welcome," she said, giving the two men a big warm welcoming smile as she leaded them deeper into the inn, "Come in! Come in! Don't be shy."

Ryuuji smiled in returned and gave the older woman a polite bowed, thanking her for her hospitality as he followed her towards the hot spring area with Viktor trailing beside him. She leaded them towards the changing room and leaved them behind as she told them to get themselves warm before dinner. Ryuuji declined at first, murmuring how he and Viktor don't want to intrude but reluctantly accepted the offer as Hiroko mentioned how much Yuuri missed seeing his once partner in figure skating.

The sound of rustling clothes filled the silence inside the changing room as both of the men entered the hot spring with nothing but white towel wrapped around their waist. Entering the hot water, Viktor moaned, enjoying the feeling of hot water touched his cold body as he leaned heavily against the rocks plastered on the edge of the pool. Ryuuji turned his deep green eyes briefly at the foreigner and let out a small smile as he slowly let himself enjoyed the feeling of being soaked inside the hot spring.

A deep peaceful silence accompanied the two men as they both enjoyed the warmth of the water against their cold skin before the sound of splashing water alerted the dark haired man to the silver haired man presence on his side. A pair of deep green eyes slowly opened as he turned his head to the side to meet his pair of blue eyes, "Ryuuji..." Viktor murmured, gazing deeply into his eyes as he leaned sideway to face the dark haired man, "Why don't you tell me how you first started skating?" he asked, wanted to get to know his student a little better as he watched him frowning briefly at the question.

The dark haired man turned his head forwards and couldn't help but stared deeply into the hot water before them as the memories of childhood flooded inside his mind, "Well, I started skating when I was around six years old," he said, "My parents were dead when I was three and I've been living with my aunt who was a figure skater ever since. She's the one who taught me how to skate. When my aunt retired from her career, we moved back to our hometown here in Hasetsu. My aunt started a class for young children who were interested in skating and from there I met Yuuri."

A soft hum echoed softly within the silence as the gray haired foreigner looked down onto the hot water surrounded the two men, "What about your inspiration?" he asked as he lifted his hand up into the air from the hot water, running it through his soft silver coloured hairs as he glanced up into his deep green orbs with a seductive smirk upon his youthful handsome face, "Are they someone special in your life?"

Ryuuji silenced, raising his eyebrows in surprised at the suggested look as he watched him came closer and closer to him. The sound of parted water echoed softly inside the large hot spring as the gray haired man placed both of his pale hands on top of his shoulder, straddling on his laps as Viktor leaned his head down, brushed his rosy lips briefly against his, "A girlfriend perhaps?..." he murmured, watching him closely as he waited to his reaction.

"E-Excuse me!"

A timid male voice instantly pulled Viktor's flirting into a stop as the two men turned their heads at the speaker to see a shy dark haired man stood anxiously by the entrance of the hot spring, "S-Sorry t-to interrupt b-but dinner i-is ready," stuttered Yuuri with a deep blushes adorned on the apple of his cheek at their closeness, wondering about their relationship as he hastily walked himself out in hope of saving himself from embarrassment.

Plastered a humorous smile on his handsome face, Viktor stood up from the man's lap and took the folded towel on top of his head, wrapping it around his waist as he slowly strutted away from the silenced man. The older man glanced over his shoulder at the said man and let out a playful smirk as he climbed out from the water into the changing room. A pair of deep green eye watched the gray haired man silently as the owner of the said eyes carefully stood up from the pool, making his way out from the hot spring with a hint of blushes adorned on his cheeks as he followed him to the changing room.

-.-.-

Yuuri, who was still stunned in disbelieved, sat alone by the corner of the room as he silently watched the two older man slept comfortably next to each other on the tatami carpeted floor. Ryuuji was lying on his back with one arm underneath his neck, pillowing his head as he turned his head to the side, leaning slightly against the top of Viktor's head that was sleeping against his chest on his left. The sight of them sleeping together, not in sexual way, brought suspicious as well as wonder over the relationship against those two. Yuuri frowned, struggling to think of way to identify their relationship before a sound of upcoming footstep alerted the young man of another presence headed his way.

The young dark haired man turned his eyes at the opened sliding door and was surprised to see his once dancing teacher panting heavily against the doorframe. Minako rushed towards her student and gripped his shoulder tightly with her small hands, shaking him lightly as she told him the next about a certain skater, "Yuuri, you wouldn't believe what happened in the news last night!" she exclaimed, continuously shaking the poor guy as she continued telling him the news, "They said that Viktor Nikiforov is taking the next season off and was told that he's on his way here! They said that a video of a skater caught Viktor's attention which causes him to quit skating for a while, saying that he was struck with inspiration and decided to coach the said skater."

Suddenly, a soft moan cut the woman's chattering as she turned her head to the side to see the source of the moan. A loud gasp of surprise emitted from Minako's lips at the sight of two men sleeping on the floor inside the deserted dining area as she watched a pair of deep blue eyes slowly opened itself to the viewer.

Viktor frowned softly at the noise and reluctantly pushed himself up from his comfy pillow to see the brunette woman sitting by his student's ex-partner, "Who?" he questioned, rubbing away the sleepiness on his eyes before looking down to Ryuuji who still in his sleep, oblivious to the other presence.

Shaking the dark haired man up from his slumber, Ryuuji mumbled, opening his eyes reluctantly as he looked up to meet a pair of deep blue eyes belonged to a certain skater. A soft fond smile instantly craved its way onto the man's lips as he watched his student got up from the tatami floor to see a familiar looking woman sitting next to Yuuri. A moment of silence filled the air between them as Ryuuji narrowed his deep green eyes, "Minako?" he murmured, surprised by her sudden arrival as he smoothed out the robe given by Yuuri's mother in attempt of making him look presentable, "When did you get here?" he asked.

The stunned brunette silenced, lifting her hand up from Yuuri's shoulder as she shakily pointed between him and Viktor, "W-What are you doing here with him?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the two men.

"V-Viktor is c-coaching Ryuu-nii."

Minako shifted her attention away from the referred men and turned around to meet her former student, "Are you telling me that Ryuuji's going to skate again?"

The owner of the name licked his dried lips briefly with the tip of his tongue and nodded, confirming the news as he shifted anxiously on his spot at the attention, "I'll be doing a comeback for the next season," he said, "So, in a meanwhile I'm trying to get my strength back after three years of resting due to injuries I had back then."

"Don't worry," added Viktor as he placed his arm around the dark haired man's shoulder, giving him his full support as he faced them, "I'll be there to help him."

Sighed, Minako nodded, accepting their answer as she turned around to the sound of door sliding behind them to see Hiroko come in from the kitchen with a tray of food in her hands. A big warm smile slowly made its way to the older woman face as she greeted them, "Oh! Minako, when did you get here?" she asked as she placed the tray down on top of the wooden table.

"I'd just arrived actually," answered Minako to her as she scooted closer to the wooden table. She placed her left elbow on top of it as a stand and leaned her cheek against her hand as she watched her friend placed bowls of pork cutlet on top of the said table.

"Would you like anything?" Hiroko asked in returned as she took back the tray into her hands, glancing around them for anything else.

"Sake would be good."

"Alright."

Ryuuji took two bowls of the pork cutlet and gave one to Viktor along with a pair of chopstick, "Here," he said, waiting for him to take the bowl off of his hand as he snapped the chopstick, "My treat."

Thanking the dark haired man, Viktor snapped his chopstick and slowly ate it. A moment of silence filled the air around them before a loud yell in delight broke it as they turned around to see Viktor beamed excitedly at his bowl of pork cutlet, "Wow! Amazing!" he exclaimed, taking another bite of it before turning his deep blue eyes to his companion beside him. Ryuuji smiled and shook his head in amused as he slowly ate his own bowl.

"E-Erm...I-It's our s-specialty here," Yuuri stuttered as he fidgeted anxiously on the side of table, watching his idol eating his favourite meal.

"Vsukno!"

"It means tasty in Russian," translated Ryuuji to Yuuri who was confused at the word as he took another bite of his pork cutlet. Ignoring the loud yelling from Viktor who kept on complimenting the food unstopped, the ex-skater placed his finished bowl down onto the wooden table and shifted his deep green eyes to his so-called coach sitting beside him, "Viktor," called the mix-blooded Japanese to the Russian as he placed both of his arms on top of the table, leaning forward to his direction as he waited for Viktor to finish chewing his meal, "I was wondering... if you could training Yuuri as well."

"What!"

The referred man looked up at his senior, surprised by the sudden suggestion before shifting his dark gaze hesitatingly at the gray haired man sitting next to his older friend, waiting for his words. Viktor silenced and slowly placed his empty bowl down onto the table, turning around to face his student with wonder plastered upon his youthful face, "Why?" he asked.

"You saw him skated, Viktor," Ryuuji said, looking deeply into his pair of blue eyes, "And you know he has the potential to be a greater skater somewhere in the future. I know it's kind of selfish of me but I really want you to coach him as well. I've been his partner in training for five years and I know how good he is. And I know how important it is for him."

"Ryuu-nii..."

"And if I declined?" Viktor asked in returned as he shifted his eyes briefly at Yuuri.

"Then I wouldn't be your protégé anymore."

An intense silence filled the air between the two skaters as Viktor looked deeply into his green orbs in returned, seeing the determination swirling inside his gaze as he released a deep sigh in defeat, "Fine," he agreed, "Buy you have to pay it double once you got the prize money when you win the Grand Prix."

"Deal," nodded Ryuuji with a smile as he turned his attention to the younger man, watching him as tears began pooling on his pair of brown eyes, "Hey! Yuuri..." he called out to him with big smile upon his face, "What do you say? Do you want to skate again with me and Viktor?"

Touched by his words, Yuuri nodded, hiding his tear behind his right arm as he gave them a light bow in appreciation for his offer.

Viktor nodded, accepting his thanks as he hummed, raising his eyes up and down on his feature, "Alright, since I'll be your coach right now. I'm going started with your physical appearance. You're fat," he said, motioned towards his large body which earned him a gasp of shock as well as a look of shame on the young man's face, "If you want me to coach you, then you have to lose some weight or I'll never coach you. Until then, lay off the pork cutlet."

-.-.-

The smell of cooking food woke the dark haired man up from his sleep on the futon next to his bed as a pair of deep green eyes blinked the sleepiness away, frowning as he pushed himself up to look at the person sleeping on his bed. Seeing no one on the said bed, he got up from his futon and slowly made his way out from his room towards the kitchen to meet the cooker.

The sound of his footstep echoed softly inside the one room apartment as Ryuuji stopped suddenly in the middle of his track by the doorway of his kitchen and looked up to admire the oblivious man. Clearing his throat out, he leaned his side against the doorframe of his kitchen and crossed his pair of arms up against his broad chest as he watched him flipped the pancake within the frying pan, "You're early..." he said as he slowly headed towards the cabinet, taking two plates out for him as he placed it down by the counter near the stove.

Viktor nodded, thanking the dark haired man for the plates and placed the cooked pancakes on top of it, "Well," he trailed off, turning the stove off as he took the plates and placed it down onto the wooden table, "I can't help but feel excite for today. I'll be my first time watching you skate for myself rather than seeing it in the video."

"I see," answered Ryuuji softly as he made them a mug of green tea, "But we have to stop at Yu-topia for Yuuri," he said, placing one mug down to Viktor as he took a seat in front of the gray haired man.

Pouting, Viktor reluctantly nodded, mumbling something about 'some alone time with his Ryuuji' and 'being a third wheel' as they ate their breakfast. An old Japanese song filled the morning silence as a small smile instantly craved its way onto Ryuuji's lips as he shifted his gaze briefly to the wall beside them, "It seems Nakamura-san in a good mood today," he murmured to his roommate as they both listened to old songs played by their neighbour.

Half an hour later, both of the men as well as Makkachin stood outside of Ryuuji's apartment and slowly made their way towards the stairs. Arriving at the bottom of the apartment, Ryuuji headed out to the side of the building for his bike and unlocked it from its place as he rode it back to Viktor and his dog. He stopped beside the older man and motioned for him to climb on as he slowly cycled it into the street.

The sharp feeling of cold morning air touched his flushed face as Viktor tightened his hold around Ryuuji's waist, making their way down the hill towards the Hasetsu Bridge with a huge smile upon his handsome face. He turned his head to the side and couldn't help but admired the beautiful scenery of the opened blue sea before turning his gaze back to the dark haired man before him. The huge smile upon his face slowly softened into a fond warm smile as he leaned his lean body forwards against his broad back, savouring the warmth from his companion as they crossed the large bridge into the island.

-.-.-

A lone figure stood silently within the shopping district as he looked down into his phone, trying to find where the heck he was as he glanced around the people walking by him, "OI! VIKTOR! COME OUT!" he shouted, earning a weird look by the passerby as he narrowed his icy green gaze around him for a certain gray haired man, "DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Irritated by the lack of response, he walked forward with his luggage trailing behind him and was pulled into a stop when his pair of green eyes instantly landed on a black coloured t-shirt with a picture of tiger in front of it. A loud gasp instantly emitted from his lips as he bought the said t-shirt and posted a picture of him wearing it. In an instant, a call from his coach buzzing through his phone which causes a grimace appeared on his boyish face for his stupidity of posting his whereabouts in his Instagram.

"YURI!" Yakov shouted on the other side of the line, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN JAPAN?" he asked.

"Oops?"

"OOPS? WHAT DO YOU MEAN OOPS?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE TRAINING!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" shouted Yuri Plisetsky back to his coach, angry by his constant nagging, "I'M NOT COMING BACK TO RUSSIA UNTIL VIKTOR MAKES GOOD OF HIS PROMISE TO ME!"

With that, the young blonde ended his call and walked away from the store into the crowd, continuing his search for Viktor. After two hours of walking, he finally found his way to the Ice Castle. Seeing a familiar dark haired man by the door of the ice rink, Yuri narrowed his eyes and quickly made his way through the crowd towards him, kicking the Japanese skater on his ass as he pushed him through the door of the rink.

Surprised by the sudden kick on his ass, Yuuri turned around to meet his harasser and was surprised to see none other than the Russian Punk, Yuri Plisetsky stood behind him with a scowl upon his boyish face, "Oi!" he said, "Where's Viktor?"

"E-ermm..."

Annoyed by his stuttering, Yuri walked towards the rink and opened the door, glancing around to find his fellow skater, "Viktor!" he shouted, catching the owner of name's attention away from his protégé.

Viktor turned around at the speaker and was surprised to see him, "Yuri."

-.-.-


	5. Skate 4

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 4:

Battle of Love!

-.-.-

An intense silence filled the air inside the rink as Ryuuji looked up from his jump to meet a pair of cold icy green eyes with his deep coloured ones. The dark haired man stood up into his full height and couldn't help but frown slightly at the hostile look given to him by the kid as he watched Viktor headed towards the blonde haired teenage boy. Ignoring the yelling occurred outside of the ice rink, Ryuuji glided effortlessly through the icy floor, taking his time before his next jump. The Triple Salchow. He took off into the air and rotated his body three and a half time before landed shakily on his foot. A sharp pain instantly engulfed his once broken ankle which causes him to fall down onto the ice.

The sound of his fall caught Viktor's attention away from Yuri as he turned around to see the dark haired man, "Ryuuji!" he shouted, eyes widened in concern as he cautiously made his way through the ice without his skate towards the fallen skater. He kneed down beside him and slowly helped him up from the icy ground, watching him moaned softly in pain as he gripped his ankle, "Is your ankle hurt?" he asked.

Nodded, the dark haired skater pushed himself up from the ice with the help from Viktor and slowly skated towards the entrance. He took a step into the carpeted floor and put on his guards onto his blades as he took a seat at the bench near the rink, taking his right shoe off to see the damage on his ankle. Seeing the redness around his ankle, he sighed, running his hand through his dark hairs exasperatingly as he cursed himself for his wrong landing. A cold sensation instantly touched his sore ankle as he looked up to see Viktor kneed onto the floor in front him to place an ice pack onto his ankle.

The gray haired man looked up at his student and couldn't help but let out a small comforting smile as he raised his unoccupied hand to his cheek, patting it softly, "It's alright," he soothed, "You'll get it next time."

A pair of deep green eyes slowly softened at the words as he nodded, returning the smile with his own as he leaned down to grab the ice pack on his own. Viktor stood up from the ground and turned around to face Yuri who had been nagging him to return Russia, "Alright then," he agreed, "but with one condition, if you manage to impress me with the choreography I conduct for you three," motioned towards Yuuri Katsuki as well as Ryuuji who was still oblivious about the bet, "Then I'll train you myself and return to Russia."

Hearing the words, Ryuuji looked up from his ankle and raised his eyebrows in confused, "What did you say?"

Viktor turned away from the blond haired young teenager and beamed as he gave his student a big smile upon his handsome face, "I'm going to conduct each of you a short program using the theme I'll provide to you," he beamed as he pointed towards the Russian skater, "Yuri! You're going to do Agape," he said then shifting his attention to the person next to him, Yuuri Katsuki, "And you! Eros."

"W-what!"

"And finally," continued Viktor as he ignored the babbling coming out from his student's ex-partner, "Ryuuji!" called the coach to his protégé, "You're going to do Philia!"

-.-.-

A week had passed since the announcement made by Viktor as he gave them two weeks to practice the program he conducted for them. Ryuuji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in attempt of pushing away the tiredness he felt from working overtime last night as he made his way to the Ice Castle. Waving at Takeshi who was talking on the phone by the front desk, he entered the ice rink and walked up to Viktor who was giving Yuuri a few pointers for his program, "Yo!" greeted the tired man to them as he gave the two men a small smile upon his face, "Sorry, I'm late."

"Ah! Ryuu-nii!" greeted Yuuri with a slight bow to the older man as he watched him placed his bag down by the bench.

Smiling at his greeting, Ryuuji took out his skates from his bag and began putting it on while waiting for Yurio to finish his turn. He stood up from the bench and looked up to see the young Russian skater doing his program, Agape. He couldn't deny that the young blonde had perfect skills as well as potential but something was lacking from his performance.

Agape. An innocent young love. That's the theme of his program. The movements of the skater were perfect, soft and delicate, like a young child who just learns how to love but the feelings were there. It feels like it was being forced.

A deep sigh in defeat entered his ear as he shifted his deep green gaze away from the skater towards the gray haired man standing beside him. A hint of disappointment appeared on Viktor's face at the performance as he watched Yurio finished his program. Placing a fake smile upon his face, Viktor called out towards Yurio and motioned for him to meet him outside of the rink as he told Ryuuji to do his warm up before starting his program.

Ryuuji skated around the rink for about 5 minutes or so, doing a few jumps and spins to warm himself up before gliding through the ice to the centre after receiving a thumb up from Viktor to begin his own program. The dark haired man stood up in the middle of ice, bending left leg slightly to give him an illusion of ease with both of his arms on his side as he hung his head down, taking on the mood for his program, Philia.

As the music began to play, he slowly lifted his head up and looked deeply into the audience's eyes with a soft loving look upon his face. He glided through ice, moving gracefully around the rink as he let the music guided him through his program. Taking his stance, he jumped, doing his favourite Triple Lutz Triple toe as his first jump.

Landed perfectly, he continued skating through the ice, taking his time for his second jump. His movements were perfect. It was graceful and filled with love. It's like watching a love story. From his movements, they could see it was a story about friendship. A love between two friends. The music was perfect. It started slow, almost innocent like before slowly evolved into a something deep and dark. It was the climax of the program.

Entering the climax of the program, Ryuuji did a backward crossover, taking as much speed as possible for his next jump, the Triple Salchow. A pair of deep green eyes instantly narrowed in determination as he took off into the air, rotating his body three and half times before landed onto the ice, "Ugh!" he groaned as his hands touched the icy floor, stopping him from falling before pushing himself up again, ignoring the throbbing pain on his ankle.

Next, he did the combination spins. A Corkscrew spins that slowly changed into sit spins as he went down and then up again. Exiting the spins, he skated through the ice and did the Camel spin before doing his second half of his routine. The Triple Axel. Managed to land perfectly on that one, Ryuuji took a breather and did the eagle spread on the edge of the rink, near the spectators as he slowly wrapped his arms around himself.

As the music started to slow down, so were his movements. He glided effortlessly through the ice and danced around the rink with a small fond smile on his handsome face as the dark music slowly lightened into something light, signalling the end of the struggle. Drifting slowly to the middle of the rink, he placed his right hand against his beaten heart and raised his head up towards the heaven, letting out a beautiful smile upon his handsome face as he closed his deep green eyes, ending his program.

-.-.-

On the side of the rink, Yuuri Katsuki who had been watching his senior doing his program, couldn't help but let out a soft proud smile as he watched Viktor walked up towards the entrance of the rink to meet the dark haired man.

"He's good."

Blinking his pair of brown eyes at the spoken words, Yuuri turned his attention to Yurio who was standing beside him. A soft thoughtful frown was plastered upon the blonde's boyish face as he looked up at the two older men talking not far from them, watching their interaction closely before meeting the others' eyes with his forest green ones, "I admit he's good," he said, reluctantly admitting it to the skater as he turned his head away to hide his expression, "But still not good enough."

With those final words spoken, the Russian skater turned his back to his fellow competitor and slowly disappeared behind the door, leaving him behind. Yuuri silenced, eyes swirling with unspoken emotions as he shifted his attention back to the two men. Seeing them laughing and smiling at each other, he couldn't help but disagreed with the blonde's opinion on his friend, _'You're wrong,'_ he thought, eyes narrowing in pure determination as a small smile instantly craved its way onto his lips, _'He may not be good enough to you, but I know he's good enough to Viktor.'_

"Yuuri!"

Snapping his thought away, the owner of the name looked to the speaker and couldn't help but smiled as he went up to the two men, _'And that's enough.'_

-.-.-

The mumbling sound of people talking greeted the tired man as he sluggishly took off his shoes after finished his overtime at the restaurant and walked up into the living room to see a certain figure waiting for him to be home. He paused suddenly in the middle of his track and couldn't help but let out a small smile before as he made his way to the sleeping gray haired man, "I've told you don't wait for me," he said, stopping beside the couch where Viktor was lying as he leaned down to take the remote within his hand.

He turned the TV off and placed it back onto the coffee table in front of him before turning his body around to face his companion. Sighing, the dark haired man carried the sleeping man up from the couch into his room and placed him down gentle on top of his bed, tucking him in underneath his comforter. As he was about to pull himself away from the sleeping man, a small hand instantly caught his wrist as he looked down to meet a pair of deep blue eyes belonged to a certain skater.

Viktor blinked his sleepy blue eyes and pulled the dark haired man down onto him, murmuring his name softly as he wrapped his arms casually around his neck. Stopping himself from falling onto the sleeping man, Ryuuji placed both of his hands on each side of Viktor's head and looked down in surprised at the bold sudden move, "Er...V-Viktor?" he stuttered, sweat began dripping slightly on the side of his face as he struggled to get out from his position on top of him.

A gibberish mumble answered his call as a small hand caressed the back of neck seductively with the tips of his finger, pulling the man on top of him closer and closer onto him. Panicking, the dark haired man struggled once more within his arms, pushing himself away from the gray haired man but all his effort was vain. A pair of deep green eyes instantly widened at the soft lips touched his and looked down to Viktor, hearing him moaned softly against his lips as he pulled the man harder onto him, deepening the kiss that they had.

Slowly but surely, the hold that he had around the dark haired man slowly loosened as he fell deeply into his sleep, completely oblivious to his action on his protégée as Ryuuji get out from his hold. Embarrassed, the younger man walked out from the bed and headed towards the bathroom with a deep blushes adorned on the apple of his cheeks.

-.-.-

Time passed by and the day of the competition was finally here. After practicing the choreography for two weeks, it was time to show them the battle they've been waiting for. The Battle of Love. Since the theme of their program was On Love, Yuuko's triplet decided to name it 'The Battle of Love' and had inviting everyone as well as reporter to the competition. Viktor told him that was a great way to reveal the others about his comeback and told him to do his best during the competition. The deafening cheering of the crowds greeted the three skaters as they entered the rink. All of them were wearing their costume. Yuuri and Yurio decided to wear Viktor's previous costumes since they didn't have they own while Ryuuji decided to wear his own. The costume he supposed to wear during the Grand Prix Final three years ago. Luckily, it's still fit perfectly on his body.

Sitting on the bench outside of the ice rink, Ryuuji sighed, stretching his muscles out as he watched Yurio skated through his program conducted by Viktor. He shifted his gaze briefly to the said man and couldn't help but watched him as he admired his fellow skater. A hint of approval as well as proud appeared on the Russian's face as a small smile adorned on his rosy lips. Thinking about the kiss he had the other night, the dark haired man shook his head to dismiss his thoughts and stood up from his place to make his way to his bag for a bottle of water.

Half an hour later, it was finally Ryuuji's time to shine. Standing anxiously by the entrance of the ice rink, the dark haired man took a deep breath in attempt of calming his nerves down and watched as Yuuri finishing his program.

"Ryuuji."

A familiar male voice entered his ears as he turned around to meet Viktor who was walking his way towards him with a beautiful smile upon his youthful face. The gray haired skater placed both of his hands on top of his shoulder and couldn't help but looked deeply his deep green eyes with his blue ones, "No matter what happens, always do your best. Alright?" he said as he squeezed the shoulder lightly with his hands.

"Alright."

Smiling, he cupped the face of his protégé and slicked his dark hairs away from his face on his side, showing off the green earring his bought for him that match his eyes perfectly, "Good luck."

With those spoken words, the black haired man gave him one final smile and walked away into the rink, passing his junior as his name was announced to inform the spectators of his performance. The sound of people chanting his name filled the air within the rink as he glided through the ice, circling around it to greet the audience with a beautiful smile upon his face. A few banners with pictures of him during his skating days caught his deep green eyes which causes him to chuckle as he gave them a flying kiss, thanking his fans for their support despite his retirement three years ago.

After spending a few minutes greeting and warming up, the older dark haired man skated into the middle of the ice rink and stood there silently with his left leg bend slightly in front of him, giving the illusion of relaxation as he hung his head down to take on the mood for his program. As the music started to play, Ryuuji raised his head up and looked deeply into the eyes of his audiences, giving them a fond warm smile on his handsome face as he began to skate.

On the side of the rink, a big proud smile instantly made its way onto Viktor's face as he admired his student along with Yurio and Yuuri, "I know I did the right choice," he murmured softly underneath his breath as he watched him managed to land perfectly on his first jump, the Triple Lutz Triple Toe, his favourite.

A hint of admiration as well as annoyance appeared on the blonde haired Russian face as he watched the Japanese man landed perfectly on his Triple Lutz Triple Toe. Yurio turned his forest green gaze briefly towards Viktor and couldn't help but noticed the light within his deep blue eyes.

He had been skating with Viktor since he was twelve and he learned a lot from the said skater during his stay. He learned about how much Viktor love to surprise his audience and how much passionate he was towards skating. But as time passed by, the light within his eyes was slowly dimmed as he started to fall out of love for skating. No matter how many times he won, no matter how much gold he own, nothing brings back the light he once had. He'd asked him once, why he look so tired despite winning the Grand Prix Final. He told him that he couldn't surprise his audience again, he told him no matter how much he practise, how much times he spend on perfecting his program, nothing surprised the audience and he just give up. He lost the passion he once had for it and decided was matter of time before he retired. And now, seeing those light once again inside those pair of deep blue eyes, Yurio couldn't help but felt understand on why he choice to train the skater.

A small smile of defeat slowly adorned on his lips as he turned his back to them, walking away with a new goal inside his mind. He swore to himself that one day, he'll also be the one who would bring back those lights inside Viktor's eyes. With that final promise, he opened the door of the rink and walked away with his luggage behind him.

"Yurio!"

The sound of upcoming footsteps stopped the young blonde in the middle of his track as he turned around to see Yuuri catching up to him, "Where are you going?" he asked, panting slightly by the run as he looked up at him with his pair of brown eyes, saddened by his decision to leave them behind, "You're not going to hear the result?"

"I already know the result," answered Yurio reluctantly as he turned his head away to hide the defeat as well as sadness within his eyes, "I guess I just had to keep going under Yakov for now."

"But-"

Turning his attention once again to the dark haired man, Yurio plastered a scowl on his boyish face, "Tell, that old man that this isn't over," he said, referring none other than Ryuuji himself as he pushed his hand deeper into the pocket of his jacket, "I'll be the one who will win at the Grand Prix Final."

"Yurio..."

"Then, why don't you tell him yourself?" interrupted a voice as they both turned to see the said person himself standing not far from the two men as he looked at the blonde skater with a fond smile upon his tired face.

"Ryuu-nii"

Ryuuji nodded in acknowledge at his name and made his way to the younger skate with his hand out to shake his, saying "It was nice skating with you," as he looked deeply into his forest green eyes, "I hope I'll see you again in the Grand Prix Final."

Silenced for a brief moment of hesitation, Yurio pulled his hand out from the pocket of his jacket and slowly accepted the offer hand, shaking it with a smirk on his lips, "Hn, don't injure yourself again, old man," he said.

"Hahaha... no promises"

Yurio nodded and turned away from the Japanese as he made his way to the waited taxi he'd called earlier. Ryuuji watched the younger man disappeared into the distance and shifted his attention to his young partner, "Come on," he said, wrapping his arm around his shoulder as he leaded Yuuri back into the rink, "Viktor wants us for the press conference. He wants to introduce you as well."

"B-But I thought he was your coach."

"He is," Ryuuji nodded, "But I want him to be yours as well."

"Ryuu-nii"

Stopping briefly on the outside of the rink, Ryuuji turned his gaze around to the younger man and couldn't help but gave him a small sad smile, saying, "Yuuri, you know I couldn't skate anymore. The injuries that I had, it'll get worst. And if I fail once again to complete it, I want you to finish it for me. I want you to carry my dream and continue winning the Grand Prix with the help from Viktor. Until then, let's skate together, okay?"

"...Okay"

The flashing of camera as well as the sound of people asking tons of questions greeted the two men as they made their way to the podium outside of the ice rink where Viktor was waiting for them. Seeing the two men, Viktor let out a soft sigh of exasperation at their sudden disappearances and motioned for them to the podium for their prize. The older of the two went up to the podium and gave the reporters as well as his friends a beautiful smile upon his handsome yet tired face as he received a bouquet of flowers from Viktor, "I'm proud of you," whispered Viktor to him as he gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Stunned, Ryuuji shook his head to dismiss the unwanted thoughts circling inside his head and smiled as he pulled Viktor and Yuuri along with him on top of the podium, smiling for the picture. When he was asked by a reporter of his plan for the future, he answered, "Well, obviously, I'm going to try to win the next Grand Prix Final. I know you all had read about my injuries three years ago and I admit that the injuries were still there but I won't give up. I swore to myself that one day, I'll finish what I'd started three years ago. And that day is today. With the help from Viktor Nikiforov as my coach and my once partner Yuuri Katsuki, I know we could do it. I know we can made history."

"Thank you for your support..."

-.-.-


	6. Skate 5

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 5:

Flying Free

-.-.-

 _A deep intense silence filled the air inside the empty hospital room as a dark haired young man somewhere around his twenties laid emotionlessly on top of the bed, listening closely to the argument happened outside of his room as he shifted his deep green gaze to his casted right foot. The sound of his door opened snapped the man away from his thought as he lifted his head up to see his coach, Alexander Rivera, a former champion of ice skating, walked towards him with a gloomy look upon his face._

" _Ryuuji..." murmured older man softly to him as he took a seat by his student, watching the young man closely with his dark eyes. He grabbed the emotionless hand on top of the bed and gave it a light squeeze, hoping for his attention as he delivered him the bad news, "I'm sorry," he said, "Your injuries are more severe that we thought."_

 _A pair of deep green eyes slowly lifted away from the casted foot as he turned his gaze to his coach, motioned for him to continue. The American former skater took a deep breath to calm himself down and continued explaining his condition as gently as possible without hurting him because he knew the news he received from the doctor would destroyed him._

 _Despite his best effort, the news hit the young man hard, causing the light inside his eyes to burn out permanently. Ryuuji nodded, mind swirling with indescribable emotions regarding the news and turned his head away to hide the streaming tears fallen down his face at those seven words spoken by the old time champion._

" _I'm sorry but your career ends here..."_

-.-.-

"He's late..."

Ryuuji looked up from his stance at the voice and couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as he glided around the icy floor, warming his body up for their practise, "He's probably overslept," he said helpfully to the speaker as he pulled himself into a stop in front of the frowning gray haired man. Smiling, the dark haired man raised his hand up to him and said, "Come on, how about we skate together to a song while waiting for him?"

Viktor lifted his deep blue eyes up from the icy ground at the offer and nodded as he took the offered hand, following the dark haired man as he pulled the slightly lean man into his arms. Placing his right hand onto the base of his spine, he took Viktor's right hand into his left ones and pulled him along with him as a soft ballad song he had selected moments ago played from the pocket of his pants. The sound of slashing ice accompanied the two skaters as they danced around the rink in attempt of passing their time while waiting for Yuuri to arrive.

"S-Sorry, I'm late!"

Panted heavily from his run, Yuuri looked up from his crouch and couldn't help but blinked his deep brown gaze in surprised at the sight happened before him. He slowly walked up to the ice rink and watched as Ryuuji caught Viktor in the middle of his jump, lifting him up as they gilded gracefully through the ice. The dark haired man slowly and cautiously put his partner down onto his two feet and turned Viktor around so that his back was leaning against his chest as they did the spread eagle together near the entrance where Yuuri was watching them. Catching a sight of him on the corner of his eyes, Ryuuji gently let go of his hold on Viktor and let both of them slide away to face Yuuri.

"You're late," pointed Ryuuji to the younger man, smirking amusedly at the panic look upon Yuuri's face as he skated away from the stuttering man, leaving him behind as Viktor scolded the younger man for his tardiness. Landed perfectly on his feet from his axel jump, he skated alone for a few moments inside the icy rink and turned around when Viktor called him to join him and Yuuri in the middle of rink.

"Alright then," Viktor began as he stood in the middle of the ice rink, facing his two students as he looked at each of them with a thoughtful look upon his youthful face, "Since the announcement was made, I'd decided that we'll began training for your free program. Instead of conducting for you two, I want each of you to do your own program. You know your own weaknesses and advantages so it's easier for you to decide how to conduct your own program. I'll be supervising it whether it's suitable for you or not."

"But in a meanwhile, we're going to practice and perfecting the basic skills of ice skating. From what I've observe, both of you have a good, almost perfect score on presentation but your technical score is not quite good as it should be. Yuuri, you're a bit weak on jumps, especially in Salchow Jumps and Flips. So, I want you to do some balancing exercises before doing the jumps so that you won't injure yourself during landing."

"Ryuuji, yours jumps were perfect but you intend to do high difficulty jumps which could cause more agitation on your injuries. So I suggest that you should lower your jumps difficulty. If you manage to do perfect, flawless basic jumps that will be enough. I don't want you to risk yourself further."

A brief of irritation at the reminder of his injuries flashed inside his deep green gaze as he gave his new coach a reluctant nod, understanding the instruction given to him as they began practicing as well as perfecting their jumps for their next competition.

-.-.-

 _A pair of dark green eyes narrowed angrily at the written words within the newspaper as he threw the piece of paper away from him, taking his crutches from the side of his bed and placed it underneath his armpits. Pushing his sore body up from the soft bed, he stood on his left foot and slowly walked out from the hotel room into the lobby in attempt of leaving for his flight home. The sound of people talking entered the former skater's ears as he looked up from the tiled floor beneath him to see a group of reporters stood anxiously inside the large lobby, waiting for his arrivals._

" _There he is!" shouted one of the reporters as he spotted the injured man. Hearing this, the others began swarming towards him, asking tons of questions regarding his injuries as well as his career._

" _Excuse me, Mr. Sakamoto. Is it true? Are you retire from skating-?"_

" _Mr. Sakamoto! What's your plan for the future-?!"_

" _Mr. Sakamoto-!"_

 _Ryuuji silenced and pushed himself through the sea of reporters towards the front door of the hotel, entering the black SUV that had been waited for him. He closed the door behind him and told the driver to drive him to the airport as he looked up to the rear mirror above the silent man to see the retreating group of reporters. The black haired man looked down onto his laps and couldn't help but took out his phone from the pocket of his trench coat, shuffling through the contact to see a familiar number. Letting the lone tear fallen down his cheek, he clicked the number and lifted it up onto his ear._

" _...Hello."_

-.-.-

A loud shout of his name pulled the former ice skater/coach's attention away from his protégé as a man somewhere around his mid forties turned his dark gaze to see the speaker. It was his friend's student, Phichit. The Celestino's student grinned at the attention he received from his coach's friend and pulled himself in a stop in front of the older man with an i-Pad in his hand, "Look!" he said, showing him the online news he read about a certain skater.

Alexander Rivera took the i-Pad into his own large hand and couldn't help but stunned by the image posted within the online news. He shuffled through the written words and was surprised to read that his former apprentice had decided to make his comeback into the ice skating world despite the injuries he had three years ago. The older man gave the i-Pad back to its owner and turned his attention away from the Thailand's skater as he made his way out of the rink, thinking about calling the said former student for some explanation about his sudden comeback.

-.-.-

"Thank you. Please come again!"

A deep sigh of exhaustion softly emitted from the dark haired man's lips as he leaned down to grab the dirty plates onto his tray, carrying it back into the kitchen. He placed the tray down beside the sink and turned on the faucet, letting the pure plain water out from the tube as he grabbed one of the dirty plates and began washing it.

Halfway through the washing, a familiar ringing caught the man's attention away from his chores as he placed the plate down and turned off the faucet for a moment before wiping his wet hands onto the kitchen towel. He pulled his phone out from the pocket of his jeans and looked down to see the caller.

A pair of deep green eyes narrowed briefly at the written name upon the screen of his phone and couldn't help but sighed, hesitating as he answered the call. He lifted the phone up onto his ear and looked out through the small window on top of the sink to see the darkness of the night skies.

" _Ryuuji!"_

A deep baritone voice greeted the dark haired man as he hung his head down to hide the sadness as well as relief to hear the familiar voice, "It's been a while, Coach Rivera," replied the man in returned with a small smile on his tired face.

" _...yeah,"_ murmured the caller softly behind the line, _"I've read the news."_

"O-Oh?"

A moment of silence emitted from the line as Ryuuji lifted his head up to see the full moon shined brightly within the night skies.

" _...I'm proud of you."_

A pair of deep green eyes instantly widened at the words, surprised as he murmured, "...Really?"

" _...Yeah. I've always know you wouldn't give up."_

Closing his deep green eyes, Ryuuji placed his hand over his face and couldn't help but let out a sob, murmuring his apologies to his former coach regarding his failure to fulfil his promise to him.

" _Ryuuji!"_ snapped the deep voice within the phone _, "It's me who should apologies. I-I was the one who destroyed your dream-"_

"But Coach Rivera-"

" _No! Listen here, Ryuuji! I know you blamed yourself about what happened three years ago but it is I who should be blamed. I kept on pushing and pushing you to be the best and now, look what my effort do to you. I destroyed your dream. I destroyed the one who I saw as my son's dream...I'm sorry."_

"Coach..."

" _Don't give up, Ryuuji. Don't ever give up on your dream because I know, you'll achieve it. Thank you for letting me coached you the past few years. I hope I'll see you again in the Grand Prix."_

*Click!*

-.-.-

Days passed since the call and the burden on Ryuuji's shoulders finally been lifted as he continued training underneath Viktor's coaching. After practising and arranging their program for the free skate for about 5 hours straight, the three men made their way to Yu-Topia, Yuuri's family inn for a moment of relaxation. A deep sigh in relief softly escaped from the older dark haired man as he slowly eased himself down into the hot water, appreciating the warmth on his sore muscles as he opened his closed deep green eyes to his companion.

Seeing the thoughtful look on Viktor's face, Ryuuji raised his right hand out from the crystal clear hot water and couldn't help but poked his forefinger onto the apple of his cheek to catch his attention, "What's on your mind?" he asked the older man.

The gray haired shook his head, smiling fondly to the dark haired man in attempt of easing his concern for him as he turned his body around to face him, "Ryuuji," called the Russian skater out to him, "I've been thinking," he began, "and I want you to nix the three quad you've made for your free program."

"Huh?" blinked Ryuuji in surprised, taken aback by his words as a soft frown slowly began to appear on his slightly flush face, "Why?" he questioned him, "I need those if I want to qualify for the Grand Prix."

"I know," admitted Viktor as he shifted his gaze down onto the hot water surround them within the spring, "As I've mention before, you only need one perfect flawless quad. I don't want you to risk yourself before the Final. Just bear with it, okay?"

A moment of hesitation filled the air between the two men as Ryuuji nodded, sinking deeper into the hot water with a thoughtful look upon his handsome face. Seeing the unhappy expression on his protégé face, Viktor leaned back against the smooth boulder behind them and looked down onto the crystal clear hot water, "Do you have any idea why I choose to be your coach?" he asked, murmuring softly as he lifted his sea blue gaze up into the opened night skies above them, "It's because of your eyes," he said with a soft genuine smile on his pinkish lips, "Every time I gaze into those two pools of deep green eyes, I couldn't help but see myself in it. I could see the passion. I could see the effort, the struggles that you had to face just to be here. And I could see the stories behind your every move."

"Ever since I first saw the video, there were voices inside my head saying, 'He's the one, Vitya. He's the one who will make history together with you.' And with that, I told myself that I have to have you. I have to see with my own eyes and when I did see you perform that day, I knew that I've make the right choice in choosing you."

A blink of surprise answered the gray haired man as a hint of blushes adorned on the apple of the dark haired man's cheek, embarrassed by his heartfelt speech. Releasing a deep breath, Ryuuji looked up to the beautiful man sitting beside him and couldn't help but let out a small genuine smile upon his handsome face as he gazed deeply into those pair of sea blue eyes, "I..." he trailed off, still speechless by the heartfelt speech, "Thank you..."

-.-.-

 _Hearing his name been announced, the dark haired young man took a deep breath in attempt of calming himself for his big debut and stepped out into the ice rink with a beautiful smile upon his handsome face. Ryuuji skated around the ice rink for a few moments and slowly stopped in the middle of the icy floor, waiting patiently for the music to start his performance. A beautiful ballad song began to play from the large speakers above the rink as the skater glided gracefully through the ice, dancing as he took his time for his jump._

 _The sound of slashing ice accompanied the young skater as he took his first jump, the Triple Lutz Triple Toe. Landed perfectly on the ice, the dark haired young man lifted both of his arms up into the skies, signalling the successful jump he made as he continued dancing around the ice, following the music._

 _Next, he did the Triple Axel jumps as well as a combination spins. On his last routine, he decided to give the audience a surprise. He took a moment to gather himself and narrowed his deep green eyes determinedly for his finally jump, the Quad Flip. He jumped and flips four times in the air and landed perfectly on his right feet._

 _Seeing the jump, the audiences couldn't help but be amazed by the new skater as they stood up from their seat and cheered the young Asian skater for his excellent performance. As the music started to end, so does his performance. He gave the audiences a deep bow for their support and skated away towards the entrance to meet his coach._

" _I did it!" he shouted, smiling widely as he hugged his coach._

 _Alexander Rivera smiled fondly at the young lad and nodded as he hugged the young boy in returned, "Yeah, you did it!"_

-.-.-

"Ryuuji!"

The owner of the name lifted his attention away from the customers before him and turned around to see none other than his neighbour, Nakamura Koushi, a dark haired older man, somewhere around his mid forties with light tan skin and a pair of deep brown eyes. A typical Asian look man.

A big welcoming smile instantly appeared on the young man's face as he greeted the older man, welcoming him to the restaurant where he worked, "Nakamura-san!" he smiled, "Welcome!"

The brunette old man smiled in returned at the young man's greeting and took a seat near the window, "One spicy hot ramen, please!" he ordered as he watched the young lad jot down his order into his notepad.

"Roger!"

With that, Ryuuji walked back in the kitchen and gave the cooks the orders. He walked out from the kitchen and began cleaning up the dirty plates and glasses on the table around the restaurant. After a few minutes of cleaning up, he walked back to the counter and took the heavy tray filled with foods, carrying it to its respective customers. As he placed a bowl of spicy hot ramen on Nakamura-san's table, the young dark haired man took a seat in front of the older man and looked up at the man anxiously, asking, "Did you finish it, Nakamura-san?"

The older man chuckled and nodded as he pulled out a disk from the pocket of his jacket, "Here," he said, giving the said disk to the young man with a warm smile upon his face, "I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I did it specifically for you."

A bright happy smile instantly craved its way onto the man's face as he thanked him for his work. The older man laughed and ruffled the dark hairs on the young man head affectionately as he told him his visit to his son's house in Tokyo.

-.-.-

"Viktor!"

The gray haired man turned around at the caller and smiled as he watched the handsome dark haired young man. Ryuuji walked up to his coach and couldn't help but took a moment to admire Yuuri's performance. _'He's improved,'_ thought the mix-blooded Japanese as he stopped by the edge of the ice rink, watching the younger man landed perfectly on his feet after doing the triple Salchow jumps.

He turned his deep green gaze back to the beautiful man standing beside him and smiled as he pulled out his phone and earphone from the pocket of his dark green hoodie, "Listen to this," he said as he gave him one of the earphones.

Viktor hummed absentmindedly at the offer and took the offered earphones into his hand as he placed it onto his ear, listening to the music played by Ryuuji's phone. A small genuine slowly adorned on the man's lips as a pair of deep blue eyes looked up to meet his green ones, "It's perfect," he said, "What's the title of it?"

"Flying Free."

-.-.-


	7. Skate 6

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 6:

The Return of the Ice Prince

-.-.-

A deep loud breath emitted from the dark haired man's lips as he looked down onto his lap, desperately trying to calm his nerves down as the sound of people chattering filled the air inside the waiting room. Hearing his name being called by the announcer, the owner of the said name raised his head up from the tiles beneath him and walked up to the announcer to draw his turn for the Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu Figure Skating Championship.

The mix blooded Japanese man pushed his slightly tan hand into a bag filled with numbers and pulled out a card, "First huh?" he mumbled, frowning slightly at his luck as he walked back to his bench with the card in his hand.

As the announcer announced his turn to the audiences, Ryuuji stretched his arms out above him and sighed as he looked up at the large ice rink outside of the window, thinking about his performance. A loud childish like squeal caught the skater's attention away from his daydreaming as he turned his deep green eyes to the side to see a young teenage boy, probably around 18 years old looking at him as if he was seeing a god.

Surprised by the look on his face, the dark haired man gave the young boy a polite smile and nodded his head in greeting, saying, "Hello."

Another loud squeal answered his greeting as he watched the boy leaned closer into his personal space, eyes filled with admiration as well as awe for his presence inside the competition, "You're Ryuuji Sakamoto aren't you?" asked the dirty blonde boy with red bangs hair to the older man, "I'm your biggest fan!"

"O-Oh?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically as he leaned even closer to the older man, "I know you'll back someday!" he exclaimed, "Those reporters knew nothing about you."

"A-Ah..."

Hearing a name being called, the excited dirty blonde boy jumped out from his seat beside his idol and quickly rushed towards the announcer to draw his turn. Ryuuji, who had the pleasure of meeting the said boy, tilted his head to the side in confused and shook his head to dismiss the weirdness he had just encountered as he made his way to the locker room in hope of finding his missing coach.

As he finally arrived at the locker room, he couldn't help but noticed a group of reporters swarming on the side of the room, "Found you," mumbled Ryuuji as he pushed his way through the people surrounding Viktor.

Seeing his student's face between the reporters, Viktor grabbed the dark haired man by his arm and pulled away him from them so he could stand beside him as he answered the question regarding Ryuuji, "Well," the Russian trailed off, thinking as he cupped his chin with a thoughtful look upon his beautiful face, "No pressure needed. I've already timed him to hit his climax at the Grand Prix Final," he smiled, "So, he can take it easy and earn his personal best score today!"

"What about his injuries three years ago?" asked one of the reporters, "Will it affected his performance later on?"

"No!" denied Viktor, eyes burning with determination and belief for his student as he turned his gaze to the said skater, "His injuries were fully healed now and I promise you it will not affect his performance at all!"

"How can you be so sure?" questioned the reporter once again, "From what I'd heard, the injuries that he had were permanent and was told that it's impossible for him to continue skating."

"Yes, I'm sure about it," stated Viktor firmly to the reporter, "I give you my word."

Stunned by his words, a small smile of gratitude craved its ways onto Ryuuji's lips as he nodded in agreed, silently thanking Viktor for his support as he took his pale hand into his and hid it behind him from the reporters' view.

With that, the duo ended their press conference and made their way out to the Okayama International Skate Rink for their warming up session. Ryuuji placed his bag pack down onto the bench near the entrance of the rink and took off his deep green jacket, revealing a tight black shirt underneath it. He gave his jacket to Viktor and slowly took off the guards from his skates as he entered the rink.

A pair of deep sea blue eyes watched the younger man skated around the empty ice rink fondly as he gently placed the jacket down onto the wooden bench beside him, "You shouldn't let their words bother you," murmured Viktor softly to his protégé, admiring him as he did an Axel jump.

Landed perfectly on his feet, Ryuuji looked up and gave the Russian former skater a small sad smile on his face as he glided through the ice, "I can't help it," he said, eyes darkened as memories of his injuries flashed inside his head, "It still haunts me."

Not liking the dark look on his protégé's face, Viktor pulled a cute Makkachin tissue box from his bag and showed it to the dark haired man in attempt of lightening the gloomy atmosphere surrounded him, "Don't worry," Viktor chirped, smiling brightly as he lifted the box up to him, "Makkachin's cheering for you. So, do your best in the competition alright?"

A pair of deep green eyes slowly softened at his attempt of cheering him up and couldn't help but gave the older man a small genuine small upon his handsome face as he nodded, "That's right," he said, playing it along as he turned his back to him, "I don't want to disappoint Makkachin."

-.-.-

Later that night, the time has come for his first comeback into the skating world. Ryuuji zipped up his outfit for the day and looked up at his reflection on the mirror in front of him, "Just do your best," he mumbled softly to himself as he pushed the side of his dark raven hairs away from his face, showing his emeralds earring. He walked out from the locker room and headed out towards Viktor who was waiting for him by the side of the ice rink.

Seeing his beloved student, Viktor smiled and motioned for the dark haired man to come closer as he pulled the taller man into a big warm hug, telling him to do his best as he tucked his head on the crook of his neck. Pulling himself away from the handsome man, Viktor gave the dark haired man a huge smile and couldn't help but teased him by placing a kiss on each of his cheeks as a good luck.

A hint of blushes softly adorned on the apple of Ryuuji's cheeks by his action as he leaned down to take off his guards from his skates, ignoring the flashes of cameras on the side of the rink at their interaction. Giving the guards to Viktor, he gave the older man one last smile and stepped out into the icy floor, ready to perform his On Love: Philia. Hearing his name being announced, the owner of the name took his place on the centre of the rink and hung his head down to take the mood for his performance.

As the music began to play, the handsome dark haired man lifted his head up to the audiences and gave them a beautiful loving smile as he started his performance. The handsome skater glided effortlessly through the ice, dancing along with the music played from the large speaker above them as he took his speed for his jump. Narrowing his deep green eyes in deep concentration, he took off, spinning three and half times within the air before landed perfectly on his feet. He lifted his arms up into the heavens and smiled as he turned his head to the side, watching the audiences cheering for him as he continued performance.

On the other side of the ice rink, a beautiful genuine smile appeared on the Russian former skater's face as he admired his protégé performance, watching him closely with his deep sea blue eyes as he took his next jump, the Triple Axel. And as expected, he managed to conquer jump perfectly before doing the combination spins as he waited for the second half of his programme. The climax of his performance.

A loud voice cheered for his student caught Viktor's attention away from Ryuuji as he turned his head to the side to see a young teenage boy with dirty blonde hairs as well as red bangs jumping excitedly outside of rink next to him. Viktor blinked and couldn't help but let out a smile in amused by the boy's enthusiasm as he turned his attention back on his student.

Taking a moment breather from his jumps, the dark haired man did the eagle spread on the edge of the rink, near the spectators and slowly wrapped his arms around himself, giving them the illusion of him hugging someone.

As the music started to slow down, so were his movements for his program. He glided effortlessly through the ice and danced around the rink with a small fond smile on his handsome face as the dark music slowly lightened into something light, signalling the end of his performance.

As he drifted away to the middle of the rink, Ryuuji placed his right hand against his beaten heart and raised his head up to the heavens above him, letting out a beautiful smile upon his handsome face as he closed his deep green eyes, ending his Philia. The deafening sound of people cheering greeted the skater as he opened his deep green eyes to the world. Smiling, Ryuuji waved at his supporters, thanking them for their supports as he slowly made his way out off the rink to his coach.

"Great job Ryuuji!" Viktor grinned as he pulled him into a hug, satisfied with his beautiful performance. He hugged his coach in returned and couldn't help but noticed a familiar looking teenage boy out of the corner of his deep green eyes. Pulling himself away from Viktor's embrace, the mix blooded Japanese turned his attention to his fellow competitor, "Keijiro Minami isn't it?" he asked, smiling politely, "I wish you luck on your next performance,"

The dirty blonde teenage blinked in surprised at his words and couldn't help but let out a loud squeal as he thanked the older man for his support, saying that he'll do his best for the dark haired man. Ryuuji awkwardly chuckled at his admirer and took a seat on the wooden bench near the entrance of the rink as he put his guards back on while waiting for his score to be announced.

"The score for Ryuuji Sakamoto's short program is 98.21! He's currently in 1st place!"

Satisfied by the score, Viktor looked down at his student with a proud look upon his youthful face, "You did great, Ryuuji!" he smiled, taking a seat next to his student as he gave him a warm towel.

"Congratulation on the great score, Sakamoto-san."

A deep baritone voice greeted the duo as they lifted their head up to see a familiar looking newscaster walking towards them with a huge grin upon his face. The man smiled and raised his hand up to the skater, "It's good to see you once again, Sakamoto-san.," greeted the national sport newscaster, Makoda Neijimura to his favourite skater, "Finally decided to make comeback huh?"

Plastering a cocky smirk on his face, the skater shook his offered hand and said, "Yeah, I guess," as he turned his gaze briefly at the older man sitting beside him, "Since Viktor's out from the competition, maybe I could win this time."

A laugh was shared between the three men as they turned their attention away from each other to watch the other competitors performing their short programs. Ryuuji couldn't help but admitted that those young skaters were good and probably better than him when he was their age. Sighed, the dark haired skater took a bottle of mineral water from his bag and took a deep swig of the cold crystal water to quench his thirst with his deep green eyes watching their every move.

"Well, I wish you all the best, Sakamoto-san," bid Makoda to the dark haired skater as he turned away from the duo, heading his way back into audiences, saying "I hope I'll you in the Grand Prix Final!"

Pulling his deep green gaze away from the young skater, Ryuuji nodded, mumbling his goodbye to the newscaster as he glanced briefly at the silent gray haired man sitting next to him, "Penny for your thought?" asked the skater to his coach as he placed the bottle down between them, watching every emotion swirling inside those deep blue eyes.

Viktor blinked his deep sea blue eyes away from the performance and plastered an innocent smile upon his beautiful face, "Nothing you need to worry about," he shrugged, ruffling the dark hairs fondly with his pale hand as he turned his attention back to the skater inside the rink.

-.-.-

"Sakamoto-san!"

A loud childish like voice popped out in the middle of nowhere as the owner of the last name turned around from his packing to see the younger skater, Keijiro Minami skipping towards him with a huge grin upon his boyish face, "Did you it? Did you see my 'Lohengrin' performance?" he asked, jumping up and down in excitement as he waited for his idol's opinion regarding his program.

"Oh!" Ryuuji blinked in surprised as he zipped his bag up and threw it over his shoulder, "Yes, I did."

"So?"

Smiling politely to the youngster, the dark haired man nodded, "It's was good though there's still room for improvement," commented the older and more experienced skater to the younger ones as he cupped his chin thoughtfully, "The performance was beautiful. You were definitely in the zone and the jumps were great but the landings were a bit shaky. So, I suggest you to increase your balancing exercises to perfect your landings," advised Ryuuji before smiling as he noticed his costume during his program, "Besides, I'm honoured you made a costume resembled my old ones during my first debut ten years ago."

"I-...Thank you!" Keijiro stuttered with a hint of blushes adorned brightly on the apple of his cheeks at the handsome man for his compliments regarding his performance.

"You're welcome."

Bidding the young skater a good bye, Ryuuji turned his back at the dirty blonde haired teen and walked away from the locker room with his coach beside him as they slowly disappeared into the crowd, unaware of the seed of determination planted by him inside the young man who will one day becoming the next champion in Figure Skating.

"Ryuu-nii!"

The owner of the said name raised his head up from the ground beneath him and couldn't help but grinned at the familiar faces greeted him outside of the arena. Yuuri Katsuki, who came with his former dance teacher Minako, raised his hand up into the air and waved it around to catch the man attention, "Over here!"

Smiling, the dark haired man grabbed Viktor's hand and pulled the gray haired man along with him as he jogged his way towards his friends, "Come on!" he said, leading him to the group as he greeted them, "Did you see it?" he asked, referring to his performance.

"Of course!" Yuuri nodded, grinning brightly at his senior as he showing him the banner he and the triplets made for him, "It was beautiful. Congratulation for being in the first place so far, Ryuu-nii!"

"Thank you!"

"Don't be satisfied with it!" scolded Minako to her former student with a stern look upon her beautiful face, "You still need more points to get to the Grand Prix Series."

Despite the scolding, she couldn't help but gave her former student a proud look as she pulled him into a big hug, saying, "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thank you, Minako-sensei!"

"Don't worry about him being arrogant or something," interrupted Viktor as he gave the woman an earnest look upon his beautiful face, "If he ever turning into something like that, I'll spanked him."

"V-Viktor!"

Seeing his other student standing before him, an innocent smile instantly appeared on the Russian's face as he titled his head slightly to side, "Hello, Yuuri," greeted the older man in returned, "Did you finish practising the program I've made for you?"

"E-Er..."

Clearing his throat in attempt of saving Yuuri from Viktor's vicious sharp tongue, Ryuuji placed a hand on top of his shoulder and steered the older man away from him, "Come on," he said, leading them away to his rental car parked not far from the arena, "I'm hungry. Let's go to Yu-topia for some Pork cutlet!"

-.-.-

The murmuring of the newscasters filled the air inside the locker room as Ryuuji leaned down from his crouch to tie his skates, listening to the catchy RnB music played inside his phone in attempt of easing his nerves for his free program. Giving his shoelace a final tug, the dark haired skater stood up from his seat and began warming himself up while waiting for Viktor to come back from his press conference.

"Sakamoto-san!"

Turning his head around to see the speaker, a hint of genuine smile slowly appeared on the older man face as he watched a familiar looking young skater quickly made his way to his idol with a huge grin upon his boyish face. Ryuuji stood up into his full height and stood there waiting for the teen to reach him, "Keijiro-kun," he greeted the teen.

"Sakamoto-san!" beamed Keijiro to his idol, "I can't wait to see your free program!"

"Hahaha...really?"

Keijiro nodded, eyes filled with excitement as he took Ryuuji's hands into his, "I wish you all the best, Sakamoto-san!"

"You too!"

Keijiro bid the older man a good bye and ran back to his coach who was waiting for him by his locker. Ryuuji shook his head in amused at the teen enthusiasm and glanced around to find Viktor, "Sorry, I'm late!" greeted a familiar voice to him as he turned to his side to see the said man rushing towards him with his Makkachin's tissue box, "I was cornered by the reporters again," told Viktor to his student as he gave him a bottle of mineral water he just bought moments ago.

Taking a sip of the cold crystal water, he gave the bottle back to Viktor and took off his jacket to reveal his costume for his free program. Ryuuji placed his jacket on top of the wooden bench and walked up towards the entrance, ready to start his free program. As his name was being announced, the dark haired skater took off his guards on his skate blades and stepped out onto the icy floor, greeting the audiences with a beautiful warm smile upon his handsome face.

Ryuuji pulled himself into a stop in the middle of the rink and hung his head down, taking the mood for his performance before raising it high up to the heavens, signalling the beginning of his program. Allowing the music to guide him, the dark haired man skated effortless through the ice and took a few moments to gather enough speed for his jumps. A pair of deep green eye instantly narrowed in full concentration as he took his jump, the Triple Lutz Triple Toe.

Landed perfectly on his feet, the skater glided on the edge of the ice rink and did a backward crossover, taking a few moments for himself before doing the Triple Axel. The sound of slashing ice echoed softly inside the large ice rink as Ryuuji took off into the air, spinning three and a half time before landed steadily on his feet. The dark haired man skated away from the jump and did a combination spins to allow his ankle to rest for a moment since he felt a slight sting near the area of his once broken ankle.

Exiting the spins, Ryuuji travel halfway through the icy ground and lifted his gaze up to the audiences as he gave them a beautiful breath-taking smile upon his handsome face before continuing his program. Taking a few distances for his jump, he narrowed his deep green eyes and did the quad flip, the famous significant jumps belonged to Viktor right in the climax of his program.

"What?!" mumbled the former champion softly underneath his breath in surprised at the jump as he walked up to the very edge of the barrier surrounded the ice rink to get a closer look on his protégé, "He changes the jumps' sequence."

Nailing his jumps, the dark haired skater lifted both of his arms up to show how balance he was during his landing and did the spread eagle neared the audiences as he turned his head to the side to see Viktor.

Despite disobeying his instructions, Viktor couldn't help but let out a huge smile on his face as he watched his skater conquered his famous quad flips. His pair of deep blue eyes filled with nothing but proud and excitement as he continue admired the dark haired man's moves that he made especially for him.

As the music started to end, Ryuuji glided gracefully to the middle of the ice rink and finished his free program with a dramatic pose, ignoring the deafening loud cheers of the audiences for him. Taking a moment for himself, the dark haired man stood up into his full height and waved at the sea of people cheering around the arena with a small genuine smile. He skated his way back to the entrance of the ice rink and couldn't help but noticed a certain man stood firmly near the entrance, waiting for him.

The gray haired man lifted his deep blue eyes into his deep green ones and let out a beautiful proud smile upon his face as he opened his arms widely for embrace. Chuckled, Ryuuji shook his head in amused and entered the said embrace, returning his with his own as he stepped out from the icy floor.

"You did it!" Viktor grinned, hugging the man tightly before pulling away to see the look upon his student's face, "You did it!"

Beaming brightly at his compliment, Ryuuji nodded, satisfied by his own performance as he turned around to see the score displayed on the screen above the ice rink.

"Ryuuji Sakamoto's free program skate score is: 165.22. Total of his score is: 263.56."

A loud cheer instantly answered the announcer's report regarding his score as the gray haired coach jumped up and down in joy, engulfing his protégé once again into his arms as he repeatedly told him how proud he was.

"Sakamoto-san!"

A familiar childish like voice shouted his name out loud as the said man turned his head around to see four skaters walking up to him with awe on their faces. Keijiro went up to his idol and congratulated the older man for his fine performance as he asked him for his autograph, followed by the other three skaters.

After signing a few autographs, the dark haired man stepped out onto the podium and took up his prize as well as his medal for the competition with huge smile upon his handsome face. Viktor took out his phone from the pocket of his suit and couldn't help but took tons of pictures of his student and post it into his instagram for the whole world to see his students' achievement.

-.-.-

"Next, we have the one and only, our former Ice Prince of Japan, Ryuuji Sakamoto," introduced Madoka Neijimura to his fellow press in a press conference after the CSK Figure Skating award ceremony. The said Ice Prince took a step forwards from his seat on the stage and smiled as he showed them his theme for his next competition in the Grand Prix Series.

Taking the offer microphone, Ryuuji cleared his throat and began briefing his theme for this year, "The theme that I choose for this year is Miracle. As you'd all know, I've suffered serious injuries three years ago that enable me to continue my program in the Grand Prix Final. The injuries that I had basically destroy my dream. But despite that, despite the injuries and the pain I've suffered, I still kept on going and going as far as I can to achieve it. To complete what I've started three years and with Viktor here standing by my side, I know I can accomplish it. I know, I can finish it because I know, we can create miracle together if we just believe in ourselves."

-.-.-


	8. Skate 7

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 7:

Crumbling walls

-.-.-

"Ugh!"

The sound of someone rummaged hastily through the drawers filled the silent night as a dark tall silhouette hunched slightly over the counter, lurking as it searched for something inside the empty kitchen. A soft streaming of the streetlight illuminated the said kitchen, allowing him to see within the darkness as the figure searched for his pill container. Taking it out from the drawer before him, the figure took two pills out from its container and quickly swallowed it dried, panting heavily as he waited for the pill to take its effect.

After a few minutes of constant pain, the pills slowly took its effect, relieving him from his pain as the figure placed the pill container back into its original place. He limped his way back to his room and cautiously opened the door of his room as he took a glance at the person sleeping on the bed. A moment of silence filled the air inside the dark room as he slowly made his way to his side of the bed. Lying down onto his bed, he lifted his right arm up and placed it underneath his head as he gazed absentmindedly at the ceiling of his room.

-.-.-

"Ryuuji! Hurry up or we're going to miss the flight!"

Sighed, Ryuuji locked the front door of his apartment behind him and quickly grabbed his luggage that he placed beside him as he headed towards his impatient coach.

A loud sound of people chattering and walking greeted the two men as they walked deeper into the Tokyo airport, trying to find their gates in hope of catching their flight to China for the Grand Prix series. Ryuuji pulled up his mask onto his lower half of his face and cautiously walked passed a group of reporters swarming near their gates with Viktor trailing behind him in his glory.

He showed his ticket to the flight attendant and quickly followed her towards his seat near the window, leaving the famous Russian behind with those pack of hyenas/reporters. He placed his backpack down onto the floor near his feet and leaned himself back against the comfy seat, sighing in relief as he looked out through the small glass window.

A familiar voice snapped his attention away from his musing as he turned his deep green eyes away to see Viktor. The grey haired male thanked the ever kind flight attendant and sat down beside his protégé with a huge grin upon his beautiful face, "Ready?" he asked, placing his own backpack down between them as he buckled himself up.

Ryuuji shrugged, turning his gaze outside of the window as he watched the ground become further and further away in the distance, "Might as well be," he answered as he let himself fell deeply into his seat, trying to get some sleep while waiting for their plane to arrive.

Viktor turned his deep sea blue orbs to the dark haired man beside him and couldn't help but noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes. A frown of concern instantly appeared on the man's beautiful face as he leaned closer, brushing his dark hairs away from his face to get a closer look, "Didn't you get enough sleep last night?" he asked, touching the circles softly with the tips of his fingers as he meet his deep green eyes with his blue ones.

Ryuuji caught Viktor's hand with his own and pushed it away from his face, "I didn't," he sighed, eyes darkened briefly as he turned his head away to hide the dark thoughts swirling inside his gaze, "I was so nervous about today that I couldn't sleep last night."

"Oh?"

Nodded, Ryuuji let go of his hand and sighed once again as he slumped deeper into his seat, "I'm so tired," he murmured, eyes blinking rapidly in attempt of keeping himself awake from the Morpheus' realm.

A sudden shuffling sound snapped the dark haired man's attention away from his musing as he turned around to see Viktor shuffled away onto the edge of the seat, "Come here," he said, patting his laps lightly with his hand as he motioned for him to lay down.

Hesitated, Ryuuji laid his head down onto his laps and pulled his legs up against his chest onto his seat, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible as he closed his deep green eyes, letting himself to rest. Unaware by the dark haired male, a look of fondness instantly appeared on the grey haired male's face as he leaned down to place a soft butterfly kiss upon his brows, "Sweet dreams, Ryuu."

-.-.-

After three days of rest, both of them finally made their appearances at the Chinese's National skating rink where the event was being held. Taking a small sip of his cold mineral water, Ryuuji watched Viktor from the edge of the icy rink as he's bombarded by the newscasters for his input regarding this season Grand Prix. The dark haired skater threw his bottle down into his opened backpack near the barrier of the ice rink and turned his back at them as he continued his training. He skated around the rink for a few moments by himself and couldn't help but took a glance at the others skaters around him to sizes up his opponents, taking a few notes regarding their advantages and disadvantages before planning his program.

"Ryuuji!"

A loud shout of his name pulled the skater away from his observation as he turned over his shoulder to see Viktor waving enthusiastically at him with a huge grin on his face, "Come on!" called the grey haired Russian to his students, "Let's go for some hot pot!"

A deep sigh of defeat softly emitted from Ryuuji's lips as he turned around from his observation, skating his way back to the entrance towards him. Taking a step out from the icy floor, he put on his guards on his ice blades and took off his shoes, changing it back into his worn out black sneaker.

Viktor took the skaters off from him and placed it back into his backpack as he packed up all of their stuffs while waiting for Ryuuji to change his attires. He threw the backpack over his shoulder and looked up to see a familiar looking older man walked passed him towards the locker room, "Yakov!" greeted Viktor to his former coach, "Hey! Hey! Want to come and eat hot pot with us?" he asked, tugging the man's coat in attempt of catching his attention.

The older man turned his emotionless gaze to his former protégé and couldn't help but frowned, eyeing him up and down, saying, "Viktor, I feel sick when I see you trying to play pretend coach with some handicapped skater who can no longer skate," as he shifted his attention briefly to the said skater standing behind Viktor, "I'd prefer you only talk to me when you're pleading to return to skate again."

With those final words spoken, the older man walked away from Viktor and entered the locker room with his student trailing behind him.

Saddened at the cold shoulder given by his former coach, Viktor turned around at the presence standing behind him and couldn't help but plastered a smile in attempt of hiding the sadness he felt at the words, "Come on!," he said, taking his wrist with his smaller hand as he guided him away to the entrance of the arena.

"W-Wait! Viktor-!"

After a few minute drives with their rental car, both of them finally arrived at the famous hotpot restaurant located not far from the National Ice Skate Arena. They took a seat near the window and looked down onto the written menus given to them by the waiter, "Oh! Look, Ryuuji! Shanghai Crab!" exclaimed Viktor in delight as he showed him the picture of the said cuisine inside the menus.

Giving their order to the waited waiter, both of the men turned their gaze towards the large window beside them and couldn't help but admired the beautiful night view of the city, "It's been awhile," Ryuuji murmured, watching the blinking colourful lights adorned around them with a small genuine smile upon his handsome face.

"Travel often?"

"Sometimes," shrugged the dark haired male nonchalantly as he shifted his attention away towards his companion before him, "I used to when I was young but since my aunt died eight years ago, I never really went out travelling except for skating tournaments."

"Well, if you win the Grand Prix, you can travel to your heart's content."

A soft deep chuckle emitted from the man's lips at the spoken words as he lifted his head up to meet him, "I guess so," he answered, smiling as he turned to see their waiter arrived with their food.

"Huh? Ryuuji!"

A perky familiar voice caught the men attention away from their food as they both turned to see a young man walking towards them with a huge grin upon his boyish face, "Ryuuji! Fancy seeing you here!" greeted Phichit Chulanont, one of his juniors during his skating days.

"Phichit," nodded Ryuuji in greeting to the young man, "Nice to see you again."

The handsome young man grinned and turned his dark gaze to the person sitting before his senior, "Hello!" he smiled, waving at the famous Russian skater.

"Hi!"

"Talk about coincidence, huh" chuckled Phichit as he pulled out his phone to alert Coach Rivera about his former student's whereabouts, "Mind if I invite Ciao Ciao and Rivera here?" he asked to his senior, watching closely for his reaction before calling his former coach to meet them, "I'm sure Rivera would love to see you again."

"Er..."

"Sure!" interrupted Viktor with a huge smile upon his flushed face as he continued eating his drunken shrimps, "The more, the merrier."

As expected, the two coaches arrived at the said restaurant and walked through the room towards them. Calestino, Yuuri former coach, walked up to their table and took a seat next to Phichit, "Sakamoto, it's been a while!" greeted the older man to his friend's former student before turning his dark gaze to the said friend trailing behind him.

Rivera took a chair from the table beside them and placed it between them as he looked up to meet his once protégé, "Ryuuji," he nodded, acknowledging his presence with a small awkward smile upon his tired face, "You're looking good,"

"Coach Rivera."

Viktor, who was sitting beside the dark haired male, snorted at the awkward greeting between the two men and pushed his protégé closer to his former coach, motioned for him to hug him, saying "Come on. You can do better than that," with a huge grin of amusement upon his handsome face.

Sighed deeply in defeat, Ryuuji leaned closer to the older man and awkwardly pulled the said man into a hug, patting his back lightly with his hand as he gave him a small smile, "It's nice to see you again, coach," he smiled.

Rivera chuckled and hugged the young man in returned, enjoying the hug he once had with his former student, "You too."

"Aww..."

Phichit, who had been witnessing the touching moment between the two men, took his phone out from the pocket of his jacket and took a picture of them hugging, mumbling about posting it into his social account with heart-warming captions on it. With that, the men started eating and drinking the night away, sharing and reminiscing stories of their past as they enjoyed the night they spent together before the tournament.

About half an hour later into the night, two young skaters, Guang-Hong and Leo entered the same restaurant as the group were and couldn't help but caught a glimpse of them sitting not far from the entrance. A moment of awkwardness and disbelieve plastered on their boyish faces as they took upon the scene happened on their table.

Viktor, the King of Figure Skating was horribly drunk and was hugging Ryuuji, forcing the dark haired male to kiss him while Phichit, who was sitting opposite of those two, taking tons of pictures of them, mumbling conspiracies about their relationship. Next were the famous coaches, Calestino and Rivera who seemed to be passed out from their drinking competition. Out of all the craziness happened on their table, Ryuuji, who seemed to be the sane one among the group, lifted his head up at the younger men standing awkwardly near their table and nodded his head in greeting as he pushed Viktor away from his face, "Yo!" he said, "I apologized about this, they just having too much fun."

"Ryuuji~"

"Shut up, Viktor."

"O-Oh it's alright..." mumbled Guang-Hong softly as he glanced between his idol, Viktor and Ryuuji.

"Ryuu-Ryuu~!"

"Stop it, Viktor!"

Leo, who was standing beside his friend, looked at the two men wrestling between each other with Viktor trying to strip all of his clothes off and turned his gaze to the ever kind-hearted skater, "Er... Should we leave?" he asked his friend, dodging the flying clothes heading their way.

"Y-Yeah... we probably should..."

-.-.-

A pair of deep green eyes narrowed slightly at the item inside his hand as he took the cap off, pushing two pills out from its container as he swallowed it down, hoping for the pain to ease as he listened for any announcement regarding his turn. He placed the pill back inside his backpack and shut his locker as he went out from the locker room to the waiting room where the other competitors were.

He walked down the hallway and couldn't help but ran his hand through his dark hairs absentmindedly as he glanced around to find a certain grey haired ma. Then, out of nowhere, a large hand touched his back, surprising the dark haired man as he turned around to see the culprit. It was none other than Christophe Giacometti.

"O-Oh! Hey, Christophe!" nodded Ryuuji in greeting as he turned around to face the handsome man, "It's been awhile."

A beautiful smile instantly appeared on the man's face as he looked down at his once rival, "Ryuuji, it's good to see you again," he smiled as he pulled the older man into a big warm hug, welcoming him back into the skating world.

Ryuuji patted his back lightly with his hand and pulled away as he shifted his gaze to his coach headed their way, "How's it going?" greeted Viktor.

The happiness on Christophe's face at Ryuuji's comeback slowly disappeared at the grey haired man's arrival as the smile on his face turned into a frown, narrowing his hazel eyes slightly at him as he walked closer to Viktor, "I lose my motivation without you," he said, grabbing him by his collar to prove his point.

And as usual, Viktor laughed it out, shaking the threats away casually by saying, "You're always like that at the start of the season," with an amuse smile on his face.

Another voice quickly interrupted the men as Viktor turned around to greet the other fellow skaters, who were asking him about his sudden retirement, "Viktor!" greeted one of the female skaters to the Russian with a small pout on her beautiful face, "What Christophe saying is true. He can't get in the game without you! Please, come back to the fold!"

"Now...Now..."

Ryuuji frowned, eyes twitching slightly in annoyance as he ran his hand tiredly through his dark hairs, musing as he turned his attention to the other skater beside him. Christophe smirked at the look given to him by his friend and shrugged as he tilted his head slightly to the side, giving him an innocent look, "It's a sin to keep Viktor to yourselves, Ryuuji. You should know that."

"Whatever," he grumbled, nudging the Swiss man lightly on his side with his elbow as they made their way to their out towards the arena.

Phichit was up first into the ice rink. Ryuuji, who was warming himself up, stopped his stretching and stared deeply into the television provided by the organizer to them to see the scene happening inside the ice rink. A look of wonder and surprise appeared on the man's face as he stood up into his full height, watching the young man closely as he did his free skate. A hint of smile instantly craved its way onto his rosy lips as he crossed his arms firmly against his broad chest, "He's improved," mumbled Ryuuji softly as he listened to the score given by the judges for Phichit's spectacular performance. The score was 86.75.

Impressed, Ryuuji nodded in satisfaction at the result and turned his attention to the young Chinese skater standing not far from him, "Good luck," he wished the teen as he turned away to make his way back to his locker for his skates.

Finally, after 30 minutes of waiting, it's finally Ryuuji's turn to show the world his free program. He stood firmly near the entrance of the rink and turned around at the hand touched his wrist. Viktor smiled and ran his hands through his dark hairs on the side of his face, pushing the hairs away to show his significant green earrings that he bought for him, "It's time to show them your 'Love'."

Chuckled, Ryuuji nodded and turned away as he entered the ice. The sound of the crowds cheering greeted the skater as he skated around, waving as he waited for the announcer to begin. Standing still in the middle of the ice, the Japanese male hung his head down and listened closely to the music played from the speaker above them.

As the soft music began to play, the handsome dark haired skater lifted his head up and turned his deep green eyes to the audiences, gazing at them fondly with a beautiful warm smile upon his handsome face as he glided away through the icy floor, moving gracefully around the ice rink as he let himself fell deeply into his music.

"He's changed since the last season."

Startled by the sudden deep voice, the grey haired male shifted his gaze away from his protégé to the speaker and couldn't help but smiled, "Yeah," he nodded, feeling nothing but proud at his student achievement as he kept his deep sea blue eyes on him constantly, "My Ryuu has grown so much now."

Christophe silenced, gazing deeply at the grey haired man standing beside him before turning his hazel brown orbs to the said skater dancing around the ice. The Swiss skater couldn't help but admitted that he's good. He could see the improvement in him but despite that, he couldn't help but wondered what makes Viktor so willing to quit his career as a skater just to help him. He'd heard the news about Ryuuji's accident a few days before the Grand Prix Final three years ago and he was told that his injuries were quite severe and seeing him here again, being able to compete once again with his fellow skater, he couldn't help but admired the dark haired male's strength as he pushed himself forward.

As the music started to slow down, so were his movements. Ryuuji glided effortlessly through the ice and danced around the rink with a small fond smile on his handsome face as the dark music slowly lightened into something light, signalling the end of the struggle. Drifting slowly to the middle of the rink, the dark haired male placed his right hand against his beaten heart and raised his head up towards the heaven, letting out a beautiful smile upon his handsome face as he closed his deep green eyes, ending his 'Love'.

-.-.-

Flashing of cameras greeted the dark haired skater as he followed Viktor up towards the stage for their result. He took a seat in the middle of the stage and wiped his sweats away with his towel given moments ago by Viktor as he waited for his score.

"Ryuuji Sakamoto. The score is 112.84!"

Happy with his score, he placed his towel around his neck and turned his gaze to the grinning Russian sitting next to him as he pulled him into a big hug, "Oh, Ryuuji!" he smiled, eyes brightened with happiness as he pulled away to kiss his cheek, "I'm so happy for you! You're the best student I could ask for!"

Ryuuji blushed slightly at the affectionate gesture given by his coach and couldn't help but returned the smile with his own as he kissed his cheek as well, "Thanks to you though," he said as he ignored the furiously flashes of cameras around them at his kiss

A pair of deep sea blue eyes instantly widened in surprised at the kiss and blushed as he let out a laugh in attempt of covering his embarrassment at the unexpected gesture, "Come on, let's get you some drink" he said, taking his hand into his as he pulled his protégé along with him towards the locker room. Unknown to the grey haired male, a hint of pain appeared briefly on Ryuuji's face at the sudden movement as he pushed himself to walk normally as possible behind him, forcing the pain down for his sakes.

-.-.-


	9. Skate 8

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 8:

Stand by Me

-.-.-

The warm feeling of the hot water travelling down his sore body eased the dark haired man from his pain as he placed both of his hands against the tile wall in front of him underneath the shower, supporting his tired body as he hung his head down with his deep green eyes gazed fixedly at the glaring redness surrounded his once broken ankle. Turning the shower off, Ryuuji took his towel from the hanger and wrapped in around his waist as he carefully made his way out to his bed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh as he ran his hand through his wet dark hairs, musing deeply in his thoughts as he eyed his injuries. After a few minutes of silence, the dark haired male stood up from the bed and walked up to his wardrobe for some clothes. He put on a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top and rummaged through his backpack for his pill container. He moved towards the small fridge located not far from the television and took out a bottle of mineral water before heading his way back to his bed.

Swallowing two pills of his painkiller, he took a big gulp of the said water and waited for it to take its effect. Fortunate for him, Viktor went out with his friends after sending him back to their hotel, oblivious about his pain as he told him that he'll return late in the night. The dark haired male placed the bottle down onto his nightstand and laid his body down onto the large bed as he gazed absently onto the ceiling above him, thinking of a way for him to continue pushing on despite the pain he suffered. He turned his head to the side and took his phone from his nightstand as he shuffled through his contact for a certain contact. Seeing the name written on the screen of his phone, he clicked on the said contact and lifted it to his ear, waiting for the person to answer his call.

-.-.-

Tugging one last time on his skates, the dark haired male stood up from his seat and decided to stretch his body up while waiting for the announcer to start the free program. He took a deep calming breath and opened his locker to rummage through his backpack for a bottle of mineral. Drinking a few sips from the said water, he took his bottle with him and walked out from the locker towards the waiting area near the barrier surrounding the ice rink. Ryuuji glanced around for a brief moment and continued made his way through towards Viktor, "How's the competition?" he asked to the Russian as he shifted his deep green gaze over Guang-Ho free program's performance.

"Not bad," murmured Viktor as he watched the young skater did his jumps on his La Parfum des Fleurs program, "His performance is great, full of grace and beauty but I think he needs to be more confident on himself. Some of his moves were a bit hesitated, as if he struggled whether he should be it or not but despites a few flaws here and there, he's great maybe even better if he can forget about his insecurities and just takes the risk."

A thoughtful hum answered his speech regarding the young Chinese skater as he clapped along the audiences after he ended his program. The seventeen years old waved shyly at the audiences and slowly skated away towards the entrance, making his way to his coach as well as his fellow friend, Leo by the waiting area. Ryuuji took one last gulp of his water and gave it to Viktor, motioned for him to hold on to it for him as he took off his jacket, revealing his costume for his free program.

Taking one last check on his skates, the dark haired male took a deep breath and stepped himself out into the ice rink, presenting himself as the announcer announced his turn to skate. He skated around the rink for a few minutes and slowly drifted into the centre of the ice rink, posing slightly as he waited for the music to start.

Viktor stood by the barrier of the rink and couldn't help but kept his gaze firmly on his student as he watched his began his program. Ryuuji danced around the rink and did a backward cross as he tried to gain as much speed as he needed for his first jump. Narrowing his deep green eyes, he took his stance and instantly flew through the air, spinning three and half times into the air before landed perfectly on his feet. He crouched slightly at the landing and quickly straightened his body to his full height, ignoring the slight sting on his ankle as he continued. He did a combination spins that consist of a scratch spins, corkscrew and lastly the camel spins.

He exited the spin and did an Ina Bauer near the judges who were sitting outside of the rink, giving them his best charming smile as he skated away. He danced around for a few moments and crossover through the ice as he waited for the right moment to do his second jumps, the Triple Lutz Triplet Toe.

Determined, he took off and spins three times through the air, landed perfectly on his right feet and instantly did the triple toe loop to complete his jumps. The sound of slashing ice accompanied the skater as he shakily landed on the icy floor, touching the ice briefly with the tips of his fingers as the pain on his ankle began to worsen.

Ryuuji groaned slightly at the burning pain engulfing his ankle and kept on pushing himself through the pain as he stood up into his full height, plastering a fake smile to mask the pain as he continued his performance.

Viktor, who was watching the jump, couldn't help but frowned at the slightly flaw in his usual jump as he tapped his chin with his forefinger, musing deeply at his shaky landing as he watched him did the Triple Axel. Conquered the jump, Ryuuji let himself drifted along the edge of the ice rink and lifted his gaze up to the grey haired Russian. An unknown swirling of emotion flashed briefly inside his gaze as he turned his focus back into the game as he did his one and final jumps, the famous Quad Flips.

He did a crossover through the ice, taking as much speed as needed for the jump and let himself flied into the air, twirling four times before landed shakily on his feet. He let out a groan and stabilised himself by touched the ice with the tips of his fingers once again before pushing himself back up as he did a few dance sequences to end the program. Drifting away, he stopped at centre of the ice and did a dramatic pose, ending his skates.

A loud deafening cheer of the audiences filled the air inside the arena as Ryuuji bowed, thanking the crowds for their supports as he slowly made his way to the entrance of the rink. Stepping out from the ice, he was instantly greeted by Viktor as he gave him his guards for the blades, "What happened back there?" he asked, eyes narrowed slightly in suspicious as he watched the dark haired male put on the guards on his skates' blades.

A brief moment of silence answered his question as Ryuuji lifted his deep green orbs away from his skates to his coach, "Nothing," he denied, "I'm just tired from the lack of sleep that's all."

"I'd thought I told you to get enough sleep for today."

"Yeah, but I was nervous that I can't sleep."

A deep sigh of defeat softly escaped from Viktor's mouth as he gave the man a concern look upon his beautiful face, "You'd tell me if something happens right?" he asked, "You won't lied to me would you?"

Gazing deeply into those pair of deep sea blue eyes, Ryuuji nodded, eyes darkened slightly at the heavy feeling inside his chest as he put on a smile, "Of course," he answered. A pair of long arms instantly engulfed the tired skater, bringing him into an embrace as the grey haired former skater tucked his head onto his neck, breathing his natural cologne, "I believe you," he said softly.

Ryuuji lifted his arms from his side and slowly wrapped it around the man's lean figure, ignoring the sour taste he felt inside his mouth at his lies. Pulling himself away, Viktor smiled and gave his jacket back to the skater as they made their way to the Kiss and Cry for their score. Ryuuji zipped up his jacket and slowly walked up to the stage, sitting in the middle of the chairs provided by the organiser as he gave the reporters a polite smile.

"Ryuuji Sakamoto's free program score: 105.45."

Clapping along with the audiences, Ryuuji leaned slightly at Viktor and whispered that he wanted to excuse himself to the toilet for a moment. Viktor nodded in understand as he turned his gaze to the reporters, taking the attention off from his student as he allowed him to leave. Ryuuji silently walked down the stage and headed towards the restroom inside the locker room. He paused briefly at his locker and took out his backpack as he continued his journey to the restroom.

Seeing no one inside, he locked the door behind him and limped towards the sinks, placing his backpack down beside it as he rummaged for his painkillers. He took out his pills and instantly swallowed it dried, panting heavily as he supported himself with his hands against the sink. He hung his head down and looked at his throbbing feet. He leaned down and took off his shoes, revealing a glaring redness surrounded his ankle. Groaned at the pain, he slid down onto the tile floor beneath him and waited agonizingly for the pain to ease.

After a few minutes of waiting, Ryuuji pushed himself up and reached out for his backpack. He rummaged once again into his backpack and pulled out a small cooling pad as well a roll of bandage. He placed the small cooling pad on the inflaming skin and wrapped around it with the bandages before hiding it with his shoes.

The dark haired skater got up from the floor and threw his backpack over his shoulder as he stepped out from the restroom, heading back to the locker room to place his bag into the locker. Ryuuji walked his way back to the arena and glanced around to find a certain Russian male.

"Ryuuji!"

Hearing the familiar call of his name, the dark haired skater turned his head up and couldn't help but let out a smile as he walked up to the grey haired male waving enthusiastically at him. As the day comes to the end, the result finally came out. Phichit won the gold medal which quickly followed by Ryuuji on the second place and Chris on the third place, making him qualified to enter the next Grand Prix series, the Rostelecom Cups. The dark haired male stepped up onto the podium and waved lightly at the cheering fans as he received the medal from the Grand Prix Representative. He shook his hand with the older man and stood up proudly as he shifted his eyes briefly at his coach.

Seeing the beautiful smile on Viktor's face at his achievement, he couldn't help but admitted that the pain he'd suffered was worth it. As long as he could see him smiled, he would kept on going and going until he won the gold, for his sakes.

-.-.-

A deep breath of exhaustion loudly emitted from Ryuuji's lips as he took his luggage from their rental SUV towards their hotel. It's been a few weeks since the Grand Prix Series in China and now, they're on their way to Viktor's homeland, Russia. The Japanese figure skater representative placed his luggage down onto the ground and took of his sunglasses away from his pair of deep green eyes to have a look at the luxury hotel booked by Viktor for their stays, "It's so flashy," he mumbled, taking his luggage along with him as he went up to the reception for his keys.

Telling the reception of his reservation, he took the keys from the beautiful lady behind the counter and walked up towards lift with his luggage. Noticing another male standing beside him with his own luggage on his hand, he turned his head away from the familiar looking stranger and stood there in front of the lift with his phone out, messaging Viktor who went out to survey the rink before the competition about his room while waiting for the lift to arrive.

A loud ding sound caught the men attention away from their thoughts as they both looked up at the opened door to see a group of people quarrelling inside the said lift they've been waiting for. Surprised and slightly uncomfortable by their loudness, the dark haired male cautiously took a step back from the said group, leaving the stranger behind with them as he made his way to the next lift beside it.

As the lift arrived, Ryuuji entered the empty compartment and turned his head towards the buttons displayed on the side of the door, browsing through it to find his floor. A foot instantly appeared on the lift's door, stopping it from closing as a familiar looking figure entered the lift with a sharp looking smile adorned on the figure's boyish face, "Oi! Old man!" greeted Yuri Plisetsky to his rival with a luggage of his own trailing behind him, "It's been awhile."

"Yo! Yuri. Long time no see."

Ryuuji pushed the button of his floor and stood patiently beside Yuri as they both exchanged their stories about their training and places they went for the past months since the Battle of Love back in Hasetsu, Japan.

"You know, Yuki-chan had been wondering when you're going back to Hasetsu," Ryuuji said to the blonde haired Russian as he glanced down at his phone to see a reply from Viktor, saying his on his way back to the hotel, "You should go and visit them sometimes."

"I'll think about it," answered Yuri as he turned his icy green eyes to the older man standing beside him, watching the dark haired male closely as he replied to a message from Viktor, "You know," he began, hands tucking firmly inside his hooded jacket as he shifted his gaze to their blurry reflection on the lift's door, "I saw your program during the Cup of China a few days ago."

A moment of silence answered Yuri's statement as the said skater lifted his head up from his phone, looking deeply into his icy green eyes as he placed his phone into the pocket of his jeans, "What about it?" questioned the man, tucking his hands firmly into the pocket of his jacket as he turned his gaze towards the door of the lift.

"Your ankle... It's still hurting doesn't it?"

Licking his dried lips briefly with his tongue, Ryuuji plastered a fake smile upon his handsome face and couldn't help but released a chuckle, shrugging as if his injuries were nothing but a small matters to him, "It's nothing-"

"Don't lie," Yuri snapped, eyes glaring angrily at his rival as he turned his body to face him, "I knew you're in pain right now. You may be able to fool Viktor but not me. I can see it. Even now, you're limping."

Clenching his jaw tightly, the dark haired skater sighed and took a step out from the lift as it stopped briefly on his floor. A pair of deep green eyes turned around at the young Russian and watched him silently, asking, "What are you going to do about?" as he stood there before him with his luggage beside him.

"Just because you're injured, it doesn't mean I would make it easier for you," Yuri declared, eyes burning in determination as he met his deep green eyes with his icy ones, "I'll give my all for this championship and I'll make Viktor return to Russia again so that he could coaches me to be the next Champion of Figure Ice Skating. But in order to do that, I want you to give your best as well," he said, "Don't waste Viktor's effort on helping you this far just to see you crash again like three years ago."

-.-.-

"Ryuuji?"

Snapping himself back to reality, the owner of the said name raised his head up at the person standing before him and couldn't help but noticed the concern look upon Viktor's face at his silence, "Is everything okay?" he asked as he placed his hands onto his shoulder, trying to get the dark haired male to open up at him in case if something wrong with him.

A moment of hesitation appeared on his face as he took the hands upon his shoulder into his, squeezing it lightly as he gave him a small smile, "Nothing," he said, letting the hands ago as he stood up from the wooden bench beneath him, "I'm need to go to the restroom."

With that, Ryuuji turned his back to the grey haired Russian and slowly made his way to the said room with his right hand inside his jacket, clenching the pill container tightly as he closed the door behind him. He walked up to the sink and couldn't help but released a deep breath of defeat as he raised his head up to the large mirror above the sink, watching his reflection silently as he pulled the container out from his pocket.

Hesitated, he pushed the pill back into the pocket of his jacket and washed his hands underneath the streaming water from the faucet, styling his dark hairs up to his usual style, showing his significant deep emerald earring. He wiped his hands off with the tissue provided and walked out from the restroom to see the performances given by the other skaters.

"Oi! Old man!"

A familiar male voice caught the male's attention away from the brilliant performance from a young skater from Czech Republic, Emil Nikola as he turned around to meet none other Yuri, "Yuri, how are you today?" he asked, avoiding the burning green eyes as he tied his skates on.

A frown of annoyance answered his question as the young skater crossed his pair of long arms firmly against his chest, glaring at the older man expectedly as he shifted his eyes briefly to find a certain grey haired Russian standing not far from them, "Did you tell Viktor?" he asked, returning his gaze back to his fellow rival.

"Tell me what?"

Both of the men turned their gazes away from the each other and were surprised to see the subject of their conversation headed towards them with a bottle of cold water in his hand. Viktor raised his eyebrows expectedly at both of them and glanced between the skaters with a suspicious look on his face, "Is there something you guys want to tell me?" he asked as he handed the bottle to his student.

Yuri turned his eyes away from his former teammate and looked directly at the dark haired male, motioned for him to tell Viktor the truth about his injuries. Ryuuji took the offered water from his coach and slowly stood up from his crouch, hesitated as he parted his lips to tell the truth, "Viktor-"

"Mr. Sakamoto!"

Another male voice instantly interrupted the men inside the locker room as they turned to see the one of the organizer workers rushed towards them with a nervous look upon his boyish face, "It's time. Please get ready in five."

"Come on," Viktor sighed, motioned for his student to follow him as he thanked the worker for the reminder, "You can tell me after this."

Followed his mentor, the dark haired male skater took a step out from the locker room and was instantly greeted by the loud cheering noise from the audiences as he waited for Nikolai to exit the ice rink. Ryuuji took a deep breath and gave the young skater a brief polite smile before entering the ice rink to start his performance. The sound of people cheering entered the skater's ear as he skated around the rink for a few moments for warm up round as he waited for the announcer to start.

-.-.-

Holding Ryuuji's jacket for him, Viktor glanced down at the said cloth and cautiously pushed his hand into the pocket. A pair of deep sea blue eyes instantly widened in surprised at the item he felt inside the pocket and slowly pulled it out to see it. It was a pill container of painkillers.

Stunned, he lifted his head up at the skater performing on ice and quickly turned his eyes to the blonde haired Russian skater standing not far from him. Yuri met his gaze and looked down at the item inside his hand. A brief nod of acknowledgement answered his unspoken question regarding the pills as Viktor returned his attention to his protégé. A hint of disbelieve as well as betrayal flashed inside his deep sea blue eyes as he placed the pills into his pocket, scolding Ryuuji internally for keeping a secret about his injuries.

Viktor took a deep breath to calm his anger and quickly plastered a smile as he watched Ryuuji did his final jump for the day. Landed perfectly on his feet, the dark haired skater raised both of his arms to show how balance he was after the jump and glided away through the icy floor, ignoring the flaring burning on his ankle as he ended his program. Panting heavily, the dark haired male wiped his sweats away from his face and shakily skated towards the entrance where Viktor's waiting for him. He raised his head up to the grey haired man and couldn't help but noticed the fake smile upon his beautiful face, "Er..." he trailed off, wondering if he knew about it.

The former skater looked deeply into his protégé's eyes and gave him his jacket, saying, "We need to talk," as he took a step back, allowing him to sit down on the wooden bench for a few minutes rest. Ryuuji took his jacket back and nodded silently to his request as he put his jacket on as well as his guards on his ice blades.

After a few minutes of breather, the mix-blooded Japanese stood up from his seat and slowly made his way towards the kiss and cry stage for his score. They both sat down at the seat prepared by the organisers and plastered a fake smile as they announced his score.

"Ryuuji Sakamoto. The score is 110.17."

Satisfied by the score, Ryuuji waved diligently at the camera and turned his gaze briefly at his coach, waiting to see his reaction regarding his score on his program. Seeing Viktor faked his smile for the cameras, the dark haired male swallowed the sour taste inside his mouth and stood up from his seat as he followed Viktor to the locker room for their talk. He closed the door behind him and watched as the older man turned his back onto him.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Viktor asked, still keeping his back on him as he kept his gaze firmly onto the locker before him in attempt of holding his anger.

"I-"

The grey haired male turned around and pulled out the pills he taken from his pocket as he showed it to him, "When are you going to tell me about this?" he asked, voice rising slightly in anger as he threw the bottle to him, "You're lying to me," he said, "You promise me you'll tell me if something was bothering you!"

A pair of deep green eyes instantly widened in surprised at the item as he caught the said pills with his hand. Ryuuji raised his head up from the pills and couldn't help but stuttered as he struggled to find suitable words to tell him about it. Viktor shook his head, not wanting to hear any of his petty excuses as he walked out from the locker room for a moment for himself.

"W-Wait! Viktor!"

Seeing him walking away from him, the dark haired skater gritted his teeth in anger at himself and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh in defeat as he let himself fell down onto the floor.

-.-.-


	10. Skate 9

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 9:

Up and Down

-.-.-

The sound of a turning doorknob alerted Viktor from his light slumber to the person entering the room as he turned his back towards the wooden door, pretending to be sleep as he listened closely to the upcoming footsteps heading his way towards the bed. Feeling the bed slightly dipped down on the other side of him, Viktor raised his deep sea blue gaze up to the tinted window before him and watched the reflection on it to see the figure sitting behind him. A blurry figure of a familiar dark haired male appeared on the window as he watched him silently.

"I'm sorry..."

A soft whisper of apology echoed loudly inside the silent room as the dark haired male turned his body slightly to see the sleeping man beside him, oblivious of Viktor's attention on him as he told him everything, "I'm sorry for lying to you," he said, running his hand through his dark hairs exasperatedly as he looked down onto his laps, "I know I'd promised you that I'll tell you everything but..." he trailed off, eyes darkened slightly in sadness as he lifted his head up to him, watching his back silently as he let out a small sad smile upon his face, "I can't. I can't tell you about it because I don't want to disappoint you."

He turned his back against the lying man and shifted his two pools of deep green eyes to the slight ajar door as he continued, "You know, before you came to Hasetsu, I was ready to give up on skating. I'd tried and tried so hard to push myself but no matter what I do, I just don't have enough courage to move forward. The injuries that I had three years ago, it's still haunted me to this very day. I could still remember the disappointment on Rivera's face, the guilt swirling inside his eyes at my stubbornness. I was selfish back then. I was so determined to be the best that I ignored all of his warning and now, look what my selfishness did to me," chuckled the man sadly as he glanced over his shoulder at Viktor, "But when you came along, I could finally see it."

A small genuine smile slowly appeared on his lips as he recalled the moment he first met the Russian, "I could see my dreams again. The dream that I was ready to give up on become clearer as time passed by. But when my ankle started to hurt again, I panicked. The memories of my failure began clouding my mind as I struggled to keep myself going forward, ignoring the pain burning on my ankle. I know you're mad at me for lying to you but I can't. I can't tell you about it because I don't want to worry you. I don't want you to think that all your efforts are wasted because I know one day, I've to quit skating permanently. Before that happened, I want to give the world and to you my best. That's why I kept quiet. That's why I let myself suffered. Not only for me but for you and the other's sakes. I want to show them that I could be the best among the best. I want to stand beside you."

Turning his back to Viktor, the Japanese skater stood up from the bed and slowly made his way towards the door. Ryuuji paused briefly by the door and couldn't help but gave him one last glance over his shoulder, "I'm sorry. I don't know if you could forgive me for lying to you but I'm sorry. I really am."

With those final words, he closed the door behind him and walked down the hallways of the hotel to his room, unaware of a pair of deep sea blue eyes watching him as he disappeared into the night.

-.-.-

 _The sound of shuffling papers filled the silence as the dark haired male fidgeted slightly within his seat, waiting patiently for the doctor to tell him about how much he'd recovered from his injured two weeks ago. The middle-aged man hummed absentmindedly underneath his breath and pulled his gaze away from the written words displayed on his papers, "Based on the x-ray, your ankle seems to be healing well. But despite that, you still need a few more weeks to fully heal the cracks on your bone. Until then, I suggest you use the crutch to move around."_

" _What about skating?" Ryuuji asked, eyes swimming with hope as he waited for him to answer his question, "Can I still skate?"_

 _A moment of silence emitted from the older man's lips as he looked down at the words written on his papers, hesitated as he told him the news. Sighed, the middle aged doctor placed the papers down onto his desk and couldn't help but faced the dark haired male as he delivered the news, "Sakamoto-san, I have to be truthful to you. The injuries that you had are quite severe and can cause permanent damage on your leg. Regarding skating, I would advise you to quit it"_

" _But-!"_

" _It's either that or you're going to be limping for the rest of your life."_

-.-.-

"Here."

A familiar male voice snapped the dark haired man away from his deep thought as he looked up from his laps to the silver haired Russian standing before him with a bottle of cold mineral water in his hand. Ryuuji took the offered bottle off from Viktor's hand and couldn't help but met his deep sea blue eyes with his green ones as he nodded, thanking the older man for the water as he opened the lid of the mineral bottle in attempt of taking a small sip to quench his dried lips.

"Go warm up," told Viktor to him as he turned his gaze towards the other participant skating inside the rink, not wanting to see the hurt flickered inside the man's eyes, "You're next,"

A small twinge of hurt squeezed his chest at the emotionless tone within his voice as the dark haired skater nodded, acknowledging his words as he placed the bottle down beside his seat on the wooden bench. Ryuuji stood up and began unzipping the jacket he wore over his outfits as he get himself ready for his turn to be on ice.

Ryuuji took a deep breath to calm his nerves down and slowly walked past his coach towards the rink, fixing the wrinkles on his outfits with his eyes gazed firmly on the ice cold floor a few feet from him.

"Ryuuji."

Hearing a familiar male voice called out his name, he stopped briefly in the middle of his track and turned his body around to face Viktor once again, surprised by the call. He silenced and watched closely as the beautiful Russian man raised his hand up into the air. Viktor gently cupped the back of Ryuuji's neck and couldn't help but pulled the younger man closer to him as he whispered softly into his ears.

A pair of deep green eyes instantly widened in surprised at the spoken words spoken and looked up to meet Viktor's blue orbs with his green ones, watching his coach silently as he pulled himself away from him with a small genuine smile plastered upon his face. Shaking his head lightly, the dark haired man returned the soft smile with his own and nodded as he turned his back to the Russian ex-skater, continuing his journey towards the icy floor to greet the audiences.

Hearing his name being announced, Ryuuji took a step forwards onto the ice and did a few round inside the ice rink to warm himself up before starting his program. After finishing a few round inside the ice rink, the dark haired male headed towards the centre of the rink and waited for the music to play.

On the other side of the rink, Viktor bit his bottom lips lightly with his teeth and looked up at the said figure dancing on the ice as he walked closer towards the barrier separating him from the dark haired male. The Russian former champion placed both of his hands onto the cement barrier before him and couldn't help but admired the way his body moved through the ice despite the pain he tried to hide from him and the audiences.

"Worry?"

A pair of deep sea blue eyes pulled its attention away from the figure skating gracefully on the icy floor and turned around to see none other than Yuri Plisetsky standing behind him, ready for his turn after Ryuuji. The young blonde shifted his icy green eyes away from his former mentor to his rival and couldn't help but gave out a small frown as he shook his head, noticing the shakiness in the man's landing, "Did he tell you about his injuries acting up again?" Yuri asked, changing his gaze once again at his former mentor for his answer.

"I've found out about it by myself the other day," answered Viktor as he turned his deep blue eyes back to his protégé with a concern look upon his face, "But I don't know how serious his injuries are at the moment. What I know is that he'd been taking painkillers to hide the pain."

"And you're still letting him skate?"

A hint of frown ghostly adorned on the man's face at the disbelieve tone inside Yuri's voice as he kept his gaze firmly on his protégé, not letting any doubt and guilt he had in his mind clouding his thought regarding Ryuuji's wellbeing, "I believe in him," he said, eyes darkened slightly in determination as he watched Ryuuji conquered the Triple Axel, "Cause I know, he'll never ever give up that easily."

Silenced, the young blonde skater turned his icy green orbs back to the performance happening inside the rink and couldn't help but let out a small smile as he turned away, satisfied with Viktor's answer.

-.-.-

' _Come on, just a little more'_

Ryuuji gritted his teeth, suppressing the pain on his ankle and continued his program by doing his second combination spin which consist of scratch spin and camel spin. Exiting the spin, he turned around and couldn't help but caught a brief look on Viktor who was watching attentively from the sideline on the ice rink.

' _Show me...Show the rest of the world the miracle we've made together..Let's us make history...'_

Eyes narrowed in determination, the Japanese skater sped up his pace in attempt of getting enough speed for his final jump, the Quad flips. He pushed himself up into the air and began twirling four times in mid-air before landing onto the ice. Unfortunately he failed to land as he expected. His ankle was twisted slightly during the landing, causing him to fall onto the hard icy floor. An exaggerating pain instantly hit the skater which resulting him to let out a loud yell in pain as he grabbed a hold on his ankle.

"RYUUJI!"

Viktor pushed open the entrance door of the rink and rushed through the slippery ice floor towards his protégé. He kneeled beside the skater and struggled to pull Ryuuji's hands away from his ankle to see how severe of his injuries were, "Come on, Ryuuji," he murmured, "Let me see it."

Grabbing his large rough hands into his, the Russian coach pulled their hands away from his ankle and took off his skate to see it. A small gasp in surprised as well as disbelieve emitted from Viktor's mouth at the sight. The area around the ankle was burning red with a few bruises on the side of feet.

"Excuse me."

Viktor turned around and scooted away to allow the medic to check up on Ryuuji. The medic began questioning the injured skater about how severe his injuries were and told him that they're going to take him to the hospital for further examination. Gently placing him onto the stretcher, the four medics carried Ryuuji out from the rink with Viktor followed behind them as one of the medic called an ambulance.

-.-.-

The sound of paper shuffling filled the air inside the room as Viktor anxiously looked at the doctor, waiting for the result regarding his protégé, "So," he began, watching the older man expectedly with a flicker of desperation inside his deep blue eyes, "Can he skate again after his ankle has heal?" he asked solemnly.

Looking up from the paper inside his hand, the doctor silenced, for a moment or two as he wondered on how he going to deliver the news to the famous skating champion. The doctor cleared his throat and gave the beautiful Russian man a small sad smile, "Due to the previous injuries he had on his ankle, there would be no way for him to skate anymore. Even though his ankle heals, it won't surprise me if it started to hurt again. If this continues on, I don't think it'll be able to heal and he's going to be limping for the rest of his life."

Viktor silenced, eyes began to water at the thought of Ryuuji quitting as he bit his lips with his upper teeth, desperate for something, some kind of miracle to happen, "Can't you do something about it?" he asked to the doctor.

"I'm sorry."

Swallowing the sour taste inside his throat, the former champion thanked the doctor for his help and slowly made his way to Ryuuji's room to see him. He stopped, hesitated to enter as he looked up into the small window on the wooden door to see the person lying on the bed inside the room.

A soft sound of knocking alerted Ryuuji to his presence as he entered the plain white room to see his protégé, "Hey," greeted Viktor softly to the silent man as he headed towards the bed, "How you're doing?" he asked with undeniable concern inside his tone as he took a seat beside the bed. Receiving nothing but silence from the other man, Viktor touched his hand with his pale ones and gave him a light squeeze in hope of snapping him to reality, "Ryuuji," he murmured, "Please... say something."

A deep sigh of defeat answered him as the dark haired male pulled his deep green gaze away from the nothingness before him and turned around to face the sad looking grey haired male, "I know what you're going to say, Viktor," Ryuuji said as his eyes began to darken in sadness and despair, "I don't want to hear about it."

"But-"

"Please..." he pleaded with shakiness inside his voice, "J-just leave me alone."

Saddened by the lifeless tone within his voice, the grey haired male scooted his chair closer towards the bed and raised his hand up to cup Ryuuji's cheek, "Hey," he murmured, turning his head to face him as he looked deeply into his eyes, "No, I'm not going to leave you again," argued the grey haired Russian to him, "I'm not giving up on you."

"You've walk away before. Why can't you just walk away again?"

"Because I believe in you, Ryuuji," answered Viktor firmly to him, "I know you're not someone who would give up easily."

Ryuuji silenced, eyes gazing deeply into his pair of deep blue eyes as he shook his head in denial, "It's no use," he said as the light that used shine his eyes began to darken, feeling nothing but hopelessness regarding his situation as he pulled his head away from Viktor's warm hand to look at the gloomy dark skies, "This is the end of line for me."

The screeching sound of chair being pushed back echoed loudly inside the plain white hospital room as Viktor stood up from his seat to the side of the bed, taking a seat beside the man as he forced the dark haired male to face him with a solemn look upon his beautiful face, "Look, I'm sorry," Viktor apologized, referring to his action a few days ago, "I was wrong. I shouldn't walk away from you."

Looking down onto his laps, the grey haired former skater ran his hand through his hairs and raised his gaze up to him with a small sad smile adorned on his lips, "I was angry," he explained, "I feel betrayed. You've promise me you would tell me everything but yet, you're keeping your injuries a secret. I trusted you, Ryuuji. I thought you would trust me to. So, when I saw the pills inside your pocket. I was angry, I was so angry not to you but to myself. I was so angry because I didn't notice it. I didn't notice the pain, the suffering you had. I feel like a failure. I've failed as your coach," he whispered, "and I'm sorry."

A moment of silence surrounded the two men inside the white plain room. Musing deeply within each other thoughts, a pair of warm hands slowly cupped Viktor's face, lifting him up to meet a pair of deep green eyes with his sea blue ones, "No. Don't," whispered Ryuuji softly with a small genuine smile slowly craved its way onto his lips despite the sadness he felt about their situation, "If it weren't for you, I'd never be here. So, thank you. Thank you for believe in me still. Thank you for being here, standing all this time by my side. It was a nice to have someone there waiting for me."

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their moment as both of the men turned their head towards the door, embarrassed to see a young beautiful nurse standing awkwardly by the doorframe. The blonde haired woman cleared her throat awkwardly at the handsome men and fidgeted slightly as she told them the visiting was over.

Thanking the nurse for the reminder, the former Russian skater stood up from his chair beside Ryuuji's bed and leaned down slightly to the dark haired male, patting Ryuuji's cheek affectionately with a fond smile upon his beautiful face, "Rest," he whispered, "I see you tomorrow."

With that, the grey haired Russian turned his back to his protégé and nodded slightly at the nurse as he walked out from Ryuuji's room, ignoring a pair of deep green eyes watching him disappeared behind the wooden door.

-.-.-

Weeks had passed since the incident happened in Moscow, Russia during the Rostelecom Cup and Ryuuji, who had been injured during his free program, was slowly recovered from the injuries he had on his ankle. During his rehabilitation, he was forbidden from ever set a foot on the ice rink until his injuries were healed. So, in order to speed up his recovery, he was being confined inside his apartment for the whole two weeks under Viktor's order.

Surfing through the internet, he opened his email on his laptop and couldn't help but noticed the large amount of emails flooding his email account. Some of them were from his fans and friends wishing him well after the incident on Rostelecom Cup. He scrolled over the emails and was surprised to see an important email from the Japanese Skating Association. Curious, the dark haired male clicked on the said email and silently read the words written on it, unaware of the sound of the front door of his apartment being opened.

"Ryuuji?"

A pair of deep green eye shifted its attention away from the screen of his laptop to the speaker entering his apartment and tilted the screen of his laptop down as Ryuuji turned around over the couch to see his housemate, "Viktor," replied the dark haired male to the Russian as he watched Viktor took off his coat after spending a few hours of training Yuri for his future competition in a few weeks.

Placing his coat onto the hanger standing beside the main front door, the Russian took off his shoes and slipped on his Makkachin's fluffy slippers as he made his way to his rested protégé, "What are you doing?" he asked as he took a seat beside the younger man.

"Just reading some emails," he answered as he tilted the screen back up for Viktor to see the email he was reading moments ago, "I just got an email from the JSA."

"Really?" hummed Viktor in surprised as he leaned over to see the said email, unaware of the discomfort he cause on Ryuuji as he placed his hands onto his laps in attempt of reading the said email, "What it is about?" asked the foreigner as he tried to fully understand the content written on it.

Ryuuji shook his head to dismiss the awkwardness he felt for Viktor's action and read the email out loudly for his coach, ignoring the tingling sensation crawling up his spine at Viktor's hands that were dangerously close on his groin. He couldn't deny that he had a small attraction on the man and being this close to him might affect him in both physically and emotionally manner. To Ryuuji, Viktor was one of the most beautiful men he ever met during his life. He had been following the Russian male for years, especially during his first debut in the Junior Skating Championship. His performances were his inspiration, his fuel that enlightened his passion on ice skating. And when Viktor came to Japan just to be his coach, he couldn't help but felt as if he was dreaming.

Clearing his throat lightly, the dark haired male continued reading the email for him and couldn't help but leaned his back against the head of his couch in attempt of giving himself some distance from Viktor, "It is our pleasure to tell you that you had been selected to be the last and final contestant for the Grand Prix Final that will happen on 27th December in Barcelona. We hope to get confirmation on whether you're going to the Grand Prix Final or not. So, please give us a reply on your decision as soon as possible and we hope to see you on the Grand Prix Final."

"I see," murmured Viktor absentmindedly underneath his breath as he leaned away from the laptop, arms crossed against his chest with a thoughtful look upon his face at the news.

Ryuuji looked down at the silent man beside him and watched closely for any reaction from Viktor at the news. A moment of silence passed between them as Viktor ran his hand through his grey hairs, sighing as he shifted his deep sea blue eyes to his companion, "Well," he began with a small frown upon his face as he leaned back against the couch, watching his protégé closely, "Have you decided whether you're going or not to the Grand Prix Final?" he asked.

"I-I don't know," he answered, "I haven't think about it yet."

Placing a hand on top of his, Viktor gave the hand a small squeeze and said, "No matter what's your decision is, I'll always support you."

A smile instantly craved its way onto Ryuuji's lips at the spoken words and couldn't help but squeezed Viktor's hand back, "Thank you," he said, smiling brightly as he withdrew his hand back to close the laptop.

Suddenly, a moment hesitation flashed inside his deep green eyes as a thought appeared inside his head, reminding him of his situation. He put his laptop onto the coffee table and turned his attention once again at his partner sitting beside him, "You know," he began, "If I accept this, it probably be my last chance to skate ever again," he said, remembering the warning given by the doctor concerning his injuries.

"I know," agreed Viktor with a stiff nod, acknowledge the fact that if Ryuuji continued skating, he will forever damaged his ankle, unable him to walk normal for the rest of his life, "And if it is our last chance, then I hope we can give our best for it. Together."

Three days later, the dark haired skater opened his laptop back up after discussing with Viktor about his entries in the Grand Prix Final and wrote his reply to the JSA. He clicked the send button and placed his laptop down onto the coffee table before him, "I guess we're going to Barcelona after all," he murmured as he slowly stood up from his couch. Putting his coat on, the dark haired male limped his way out from his apartment and slowly made his way through the streets to meet with Viktor at the Ice Castle.

-.-.-


	11. Skate 10

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 10:

The Calm before the Storm

-.-.-

A soft grunt escaped from dark haired male's mouth as sweats began trailing down his face, causing him to narrow his deep green eyes determinedly despite the tiredness he felt at the intense exercise from his physiotherapist in attempt of strengthen his ankle after two weeks of rest. He pulled his legs away from the machine and placed it down onto the floor as he took his towel around his neck to wipe away the sweat accumulating on his forehead. He stood up from the exercise machine and carefully made his way back towards the bench where his backpack was, taking a break while waiting for his doctor to come back. He twisted the cap on his mineral bottle and took a few gulp of the said water, quenching his thirst after an hour of exercising.

Placing the bottle back down beside him on the bench, he rummaged through his backpack for his phone and noticed a message from Viktor. Ryuuji blinked his deep emerald eyes in surprised at the message and couldn't help but let out a snort at the content. It was a picture of Viktor and Christophe posing by the pool. Shaking his head in amused, he placed his phone back into his bag and looked up to see his doctor came back from his short meeting. After giving a few tips and pointers to strengthen his ankle back, Ryuuji bid his doctor a goodbye and slowly walked out from the hospital towards the main entrance, calling a cab for his trip back to the hotel.

Thanking the ever kind driver, he passed him his fee and closed the door as he carefully walked up to the lobby, still feeling the soreness on his ankle. He told the reception his room number and took the key as he went up to the elevator.

"Hey! Sakamoto!"

Hearing someone calling out to him, the owner of the last name shifted his attention away from the LED numbering on the black screen above the elevator and was surprised to see none other than the Canadian skater, Jean-Jacques Leroy or better known as JJ with his girlfriend, "Hey," greeted the Japanese skater back to his fellow competitor as he pushed his hands deeper into the pocket of his deep brown trench coat.

"Fancy seeing you here," JJ grinned as he wrapped his arm around his lady, showing her off to the older male with an arrogant smirk upon his face, "I'm surprised. I never thought I'd see you here. Especially with those injuries," questioned the younger male as he motioned towards his ankle.

"Yeah, well. I've been giving another chance."

"Well, I wish you good luck then," answered JJ smugly as he walked past the older man with his Isabella, "Take care of yourself, old man."

A hint of frown instantly appeared on his face, annoyed for being called old man as Ryuuji shook his head at his behaviour and turned his attention back to the elevator, entering it as it opened the door for him, "I'm not that old, " muttered the man with a sigh as the elevator's door closed behind him.

Pushing the button to his floor, he stood silently inside the small compartment and took out his phone to see his Instagram feeds, reviewing pictures posted by his friends absentmindedly while thinking what kind of food he wanted to order from the reception since he's lazy to go down to the cafe. A ding sound snapped the man's attention back to reality and stepped out from the elevator, walking his way down the hall towards the room he shared with Viktor.

He slid his key card through its slot and slowly turned the doorknob to open the wooden door of his room. Ryuuji closed the door behind him and walked up to his bed near the window. Placing his backpack on top of his bed, he went up towards the large glass window beside his bed and couldn't help but admired the beautiful night scenery here in Barcelona.

-.-.-

A bright streaming of sunlight hit the male's face, waking him up from his sleep as a pair of deep emerald eyes slowly opened to greet the world. Ryuuji grunted burning light entering his sight and turned his back towards the window, hoping to continue his sleep. He looked up at the bed beside him and couldn't help but noticed Viktor's gone from his bed.

Surprised by his absence, the dark haired man sighed, getting himself up from his bed as he went into the bathroom to get himself ready for the day. After 20 minutes of showering, he walked out from the bathroom with nothing but towel wrapped around his waist and stopped suddenly in the middle of his track to see two familiar looking male sitting on Viktor's bed.

"Ryuuji," greeted the Russian happily to his protégé, "I...oh..."

Noticing the state his protégé on, a moment of awkward silence filled the air between the three men inside the room as they looked at each other, waiting for someone to end the awkwardness of seeing Ryuuji's half naked body. A sound of someone cleared his throat interrupted Viktor's train of thought as he shifted his deep sea blue eyes away from his protégé to his friend sitting beside him, "Er... I think I'm going to wait for you guys outside" Christophe mumbled with a tint of blushes adorned on the apple of his cheek as he shifted his eyes away from Ryuuji wet gorgeous body. The Sweden skater got up from his seat on Viktor's bed and immediately run for the door, leaving the two men behind.

Embarrassed, Viktor coughed lightly in attempt of hiding the redness on his face and slowly stood up from his bed, saying, "I'll wait outside with Christophe," as he leaved Ryuuji alone for him to get dress. Ryuuji blinked his deep emerald green eyes and slowly shook his head with a hint of blushes on his face, dismissing the awkward thoughts circling inside his head at the incident as he went to the wardrobe for some clothes.

-.-.-

After finished their training for the day, the organizer gave the skaters a day of leisure and told them to enjoy the day before the official competition tomorrow. Seeing this, Ryuuji took the opportunity to go sightseeing since it was his first time being here in Barcelona. Ever since he arrived here, his time was split between going rehabilitation and training, causing him to have no time to enjoy himself.

Taking his skates off from his feet, the black haired placed his shoes into his backpack and looked up to see his Russian coach walking towards him after having a chat with Christophe. Viktor stopped before his student and gave him a bottle of cold mineral water with a huge grin upon his beautiful face, "So," he smiled, "What are you going to do with your free time?"

He took the bottle off from his hand and thanked the older man as he twisted the cap off, "I don't know," he mumbled, taking a deep swig of the cold water, "Probably sightseeing or something," answered the man as he closed the bottle and placed it inside his backpack.

"Mind if I tag along?" Viktor asked as he took a step back, giving him some space to stand up from the bench while handing him his trench coat and scarf. A large slightly tan hand run its course through his dark hairs as a snort of amuses softly escaped from Ryuuji's mouth, "Of course you're going with me," he said, rolling his deep green eyes at the words as he took his trench coat and scarf from Viktor, "I'll probably be lost or something."

Buttoned up his trench coat, the dark haired male wrapped his scarf around his neck and went towards the entrance of the Ice Arena with Viktor beside him, discussing the places they're going to visit as they made their way to the car park for their rental car.

After 20 minutes of driving, they parked their rental car somewhere beside a street and made their way by foot into a shopping district. There were tons of people flooding the street, buying and visiting the stores around them, looking for some kind of souvenir to buy to remind them of the places they'd visit in Barcelona.

The sound of people chattering and the smell of street food greeted the two men as a pair of deep green eyes glancing around him, looking for something interesting to look at as he watched people passing by him and Viktor on the street.

Suddenly, a slightly cold sensation touched his bare hand, snapping his gaze away from the store towards his companion beside him. Ryuuji raised his eyebrows questionably at the Russian and looked down at their connected hands, wondering the reason for the sudden action as he tried to suppress the urge to blush at the unexpected touch. Viktor shrugged nonchalantly at the look he received from his fellow skater and gave him an innocent look as he tugged the dark haired male along him into a store.

With that, the two of them spent their day together, shopping and taking pictures as they enjoyed the beauty sceneries around Barcelona. After three hours of shopping none stop, they finally decided to have their lunch somewhere in a beautiful antic looking coffee shop located not far from Carmel Hill where the famous Park Güell is. Ryuuji took a big sip of his black coffee and sighed blissfully at the warm travelling inside him body, unaware of a certain male taking picture of him drinking his coffee.

A soft hum softly emitted from the grey haired man's lips as he nodded, satisfied by the candid shot and secretly post it in his Instagram account as his story while tagging their location so people knew where they were. Placing his phone back into the pocket of his jacket, he took a sip of his hot chocolate and glanced at the large window beside them to see the people walking passed by. A familiar looking blonde haired young man caught Viktor's eyes as he watched him walking along with another male.

"Viktor."

Shifting his deep blue eyes away from the two men, the owner of the name looked up at his companion and couldn't help but noticed the curious look given by Ryuuji at him for his lack of attention. Viktor shook his head to dismiss the curiosity swirling inside his mind at the two men walking passed them and plastered a smile as he took another sip of his hot chocolate, "What is it?" he questioned, placing his mug back onto the wooden table between them.

"I heard there's a Christmas market not far from here," informed the black haired male as he shifted eyes briefly at the direction Viktor had been looking, missing the passing couple walked past them at the shop as he shifted his eyes back at the person sitting before him, "And I was wondering if we could check it out."

"Sure."

Paying for their lunch, the two men walked out from the little coffee shop and travelled down the street along with the crowd as they made their way towards the said Christmas market. Along the way, the constant sound of people talking and the smell of street food accompanied them as they looked around at the beautiful architecture surrounded the town. As the sun began to set in the horizon, they arrived at the market and couldn't help but admired the beautiful lights lightened the way along the Christmas market.

"It's beautiful," mumbled Ryuuji wistfully with a hint of smile plastered upon his lips at the warm atmosphere surrounded the market.

A pair of deep blue eyes pulled its gaze away from the light and placed it onto the tall handsome man standing beside him. Viktor smiled at the genuine happiness adorned on the man's face and took the large hand into his as he pulled Ryuuji along down the street to see what their selling for Christmas, "Come on," he said, looking around for something interesting to look while thinking of something to buy for Ryuuji.

Chuckled at Viktor's impatient, the Japanese skater gave the said hand a light squeeze and followed along his coach, enjoying the night together as they shopping for some souvenir for their family back in Japan. After spending for about two hours looking around the market, they took a rest on an empty bench near an old church located on the edge of the market and sighed as they took their breather.

Ryuuji looked up at the old church building in front of them and shifted his gaze away towards a jewellery shop not far from their resting place. Remembering something, he placed the shopping bags down beside him and turned his attention to his partner, excusing himself for awhile as he made his way towards the shop.

Viktor blinked at the retreating black haired male and took the shopping bags into his for safe keeping while pulling his phone out from his pocket to see the comments on the pictures he posted about his day-out with Ryuuji. There were many pictures they took together and mostly were candid pictures of Ryuuji. The one he liked the most was a picture of them standing in front of a larger fountain in Ciutadella Park.

In the said picture, Ryuuji was smiling, standing casually in front of fountain with his right hand in his pocket and his left hand around Viktor's shoulder, hugging him sideway and in returned Viktor hugged Ryuuji around his waist. Both of them were smiling in the picture. Well, mostly. Ryuuji was the one who was smiling while Viktor was supporting a huge grin upon his beautiful face. The Russian even made the picture as his profile picture for his Instagram account.

Smiling at the comments he received from his fans, he scrolled over the feeds, watching the others posted about their free day and couldn't help but noticed the upcoming footsteps of a person coming his way. He pulled his deep blue gaze away from the screen of his iPhone and looked up to see Ryuuji came back from wherever the way he went to.

Ryuuji took a seat back beside the older man and released a deep breath of exhaustion as he rest for a moment or two, letting his heartbeat down for something he about to do. The two sat there in silence, enjoying each other company as they watched people walking passed by them. Swallowing his fear, the protégé turned his head at his mentor and called out to him to get his attention. Viktor blinked his deep blue eyes and turned his head at his partner, confused.

"It's you birthday right? On Christmas," he asked, eyes gazing deeply into his as he pushed his hand deeper into the pocket of his trench coat.

"Yeah," Viktor nodded, "But I usually don't celebrate. Even back then in Russia."

"Well, we're celebrating it now," said Ryuuji firmly as he pulled out a small jewellery box from his pocket.

Viktor froze; eyes widened in surprised as he watched him opened the said box, showing him a pair of silver rings with engraved words on it. Pulling out one of the rings, the dark haired male looked down at the ring and turned it to him to see the engraved words written on it, "Viktor," he murmured, raising his deep green eyes into his blue one as he took Viktor's hand, "I know it's not much. And I know it probably sound silly but I bought this promise rings as a reminder for me... for us of the promise we've made back then. The promise of us creates history together. I don't know if I could fulfil that dream anymore. I don't know if I could accomplish it but I hope that with this ring, I could find the strength to give you my very best in attempt to achieve it. So, thank you. Thank you for being here with me, for standing here by my side even when I'm down, for being the pillar, the support I need to continue moving forward in life. I might not able to give you the gold I'd promised you, but I could give you my heart, my effort in obtaining it. So, until then, pray for me would you"

With those spoken words, Ryuuji took Viktor's right hand and asked him to remove the glove. The Russian shakily took off his glove and placed it once again into Ryuuji's as he looked up at his partner, watching him closely as he slid the ring onto his ring finger. Feeling bold, he lifted his hand up to his lips and kissed the piece of jewellery, "Promise being kept," he murmured, breathing out the words against his bare skin as he raised his gaze up to Viktor, sending shiver down his spine at the intense look inside his pair of deep green orbs.

Viktor gently pulled his hand out from his hold and couldn't help but looked down at the ring on his finger. Seeing the spoken words engraved on the surface of the silver ring, a pair of deep blue eye instantly softened as he raised his head up to the person sitting beside him. Feeling nothing but warmth flooding inside his chest, Viktor smiled, taking the matching silver ring out from its box as he read the engraved words on it, "Then I hope you can create the miracle you needed to win," he said as he slid the other ring onto Ryuuji's right ring finger, letting the words 'History being create' showed on its surface.

-.-.-

"Oi! Viktor! Ryuuji! Over here!"

Hearing a familiar loud voice calling out their name, the two of them turned their heads at the speaker and noticed their group of friends sitting together not far from the main entrance of the restaurant. Viktor grinned and grabbed Ryuuji's right arm as he pulled him towards his best friend. He took an empty seat beside the Kazakhstan's skater, Otabek Altin, and pulled the black haired male down beside him as he greeted the Sweden male with a huge smile upon his face.

Ryuuji shook his head in amused at the older man eagerness to be with his best friend and turned his attention around the room to find the waiter. He lifted his right hand up to catch the waiter's attention, unaware showing the other of his new piece of jewellery on his finger as he waited patiently for the waiter to come.

Chris, who had been listening to his friend babbling about his day with Ryuuji, caught a glint of the silver ring on his man's finger and looked over to the person sitting next to him. Noticing the same kind ring adorned on Ryuuji's right hand, he placed his drink down onto the table and called out to them, asking "Is that a wedding ring?" as he glanced between the men curiously.

Hearing this, all of the people inside the group instantly pulled their attention away from their talk to the two of them, noticing the ring on their finger. A loud gasp of surprised emitted from Phitchit's mouth at the sight as he pointed his finger out at them, "OMG! You guys married!" he exclaimed with his big dark eyes sparked in excitement and joy as he loudly congratulated his senior for his marriage, "Everyone," he shouted, catching the other people's attention inside the restaurant, "My brother here just got married."

A loud applaud and a shout of congratulation answered the happy news announced by the young skater as Ryuuji looked at his junior in shock, unbelief at what happened moments ago as he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in distress at what's to come from this announcement. Chris laughed at the miserable look plastered on the man's face and shook his head in amused at the gloomy figure sitting beside his friend as Viktor comforted his so-called husband.

Early the next morning, while Viktor's still sleeping, Ryuuji leaved the room and decided to take a walk along the seaside near the hotel to calm his thought before the tournament. He looked out over the horizon and watched as he waited patiently for the sun to rise from its sleep to greet the world with its light. Being on the seaside and feeling the soft sea breeze against his skin, all of it reminded him of Hasetsu. It's been awhile and he couldn't help but feel a little homesick. He took a deep breath of the cold morning air and exhaled it loudly from his mouth as he raised his head up towards the skies.

-.-.-

"Yuuri! Come on. The Grand Prix Final is about to starts," shouted Yuuko to her childhood friend as she snuggled closer to her husband for warmth, while her triplet bundled up together under their blanket as they waited for the reporter to finish his introduction.

The owner of the name placed his smart phone down on top of his desk inside his bed room and quickly exited the room to see the GPF along with his family and friends, forgetting to turn his screen off after finished looking at the picture posted by Phichit.

It was a picture of him and others skaters having dinner together inside a restaurant but the one that caught his attention were Viktor and Ryuuji. Inside the picture, Viktor was beaming happily in the centre with his right hand raised, showing off the silver ring adorned on his ring finger. Next to the Russian was none other than his former senior, Ryuuji, with his hand covering his flushed face and on his finger where a same pair of silver ring Viktor wore. Underneath the picture, Phichit wrote about them being married without invited him and hashtag it with their so-called couple name, 'VitRyu.'

Yuuri shook his head in amused at the thought and looked up at the TV screen as he waited patiently for the Japanese reporter to announce the skaters who were going to compete for the GPF in Barcelona. After a few minutes of explaining the history behind the GPF, the six finalists made their appearance beside the ice rink, greeting the crowd as they prepared themselves for their first program.

Yuuri's eyes were instantly focused at the two men who had become his mentors for the past months. The two of them were standing together near the entrance of the rink, talking among each other as Ryuuji stretched to get himself ready for his turn in ice. He nodded at something Viktor said and took a step out into the ice.

Before he could begins his short program, Viktor caught his hand and pulled the man back to face him, murmuring something to him as he lifted his right hand to kiss Ryuuji's ring. The camera instantly focused at the two men's' intimate moment for the audiences to witness and couldn't help but noticed the shining silver rings adorned on their ring finger.

"OH MY GOD! IS THAT A WEDDING RING?!" exclaimed Minako-sensei in shock as she pointed towards the screen, noticing the matching pair of rings on the men's finger, "I CAN'T BELIEVE I WASN"T INVITED TO THEIR WEDDING!"

Yuuri sweat dropped at his teacher's behaviour as she raging about going to Barcelona to find Ryuuji and forced him to make her as his wedding planner for his wedding back in Japan. He shook his head and continued watching his mentors achieving his dream in winning the gold in the Grand Prix Final.

-.-.-


	12. Skate 11

-.-.-

 **One Step Closer**

-.-.-

Skate 11:

Dreams of the Future

-.-.-

Taking a deep breath, Ryuuji hung his head down, letting his thought fell deeply into the persona he require for his performance. A deep silence filled the air inside the Ice Arena as the audiences watched the skater stood silently in the middle of the ice with his left leg bended slightly to give him the illusion of ease as he waited for the music to play.

As the music started to play, the Japanese skater raised his head slowly towards the audiences and charmed them by giving them a beautiful warm smile upon his face as he danced his way through the ice, letting himself being carried by the music. His movements were slow yet graceful as he readied himself for his first jump, the Triple Lutz Triple Toe.

Narrowing his deep green eyes in determination, Ryuuji jumped, soaring through the air as he spun three times before landed briefly on his feet. As soon as his feet touched the ice, he settled his body in the upright position for the triple toe loop and planted his left toe pick onto the ice which launched him up again into the air for the second time to complete the combination.

Landed perfectly on the ice cold floor, he skated around the rink absentmindedly and looked up at Viktor briefly as he took his time and speed for his second jump. From his moves, the audiences can see the story behind it. It's a story of love, a friendship between two childhood friends who separated by death. It started with slow almost innocent like, telling them the beginning of the friendship but as time goes by it atmosphere slowly evolved into something deep and dark.

Entering the climax of his program, Ryuuji's movements become sharper, more aggressive than before, signalling the struggle the character had in order to save his friend. He did a backward crossover, taking as much speed as possible and took off into the air, rotating his body three times before landed firmly onto the ice. A sharp sting instantly hit his ankle, causing him to wobble slightly in his landing with his hands touched the icy floor, stopping him from falling before pushing himself up again.

Ignoring the familiar pain, the black haired skater clenched his jaw tightly and kept on going as he did the combination spins which consist of a Corkscrew spins that slowly changed into sit spins. He exited the said spins and skated through the ice with a fake smile plastered upon his face to hide the pain.

He speeded up his skate and placed his left foot front firmly into the ice before taking off into the air, twisting his body three and half times before landing perfectly on his right foot. He spread his arms away from his body to stabilise his fall and lifted his head up to the audiences with a sad look on his face. Ryuuji greeted his audience with an eagle spread on the edge of the rink and slowly wrapped his arms around himself as if to comfort him from pain he felt.

As the music slowed down, so were his movements. The skater glided effortlessly through the ice and danced around the rink before a small fond smile carved its way onto the man's lips as the dark music slowly lightened into something light, signalling the end of the struggle, the peace he finally had.

Drifting slowly to the middle of the rink, he placed his right hand against his beaten heart and raised his head up towards the heaven, letting out a beautiful smile upon his handsome face as he closed his deep green eyes, ending his program.

A loud tremendous roar of the audiences filled the silence inside the Ice Arena as Ryuuji stood up into his full height and looked around him to see them cheering and shouting his name. The feeling was indescribable. He waved back at the audiences and slowly skated away towards the entrance of the rink. He raised his gaze up from the cold icy ground beneath him and was instantly greeted by a sight he could never forget. There, standing by the opened entrance was a beautiful man with his arms spread open for him, as if to welcome him back home with a proud warm smile upon his rosy lips.

Touched by the gesture, Ryuuji smiled and went up to his coach to receive the hug. He wrapped his arms around the older man and listened silently to the words whispered into his ear by the Russian, "You did great, Ryuuji. I'm so proud of you."

The Japanese skater pulled himself away from the hug and thanked him as he took the guards for his skates. Placing the guards on his skate blades, he stepped out from the ice rink and looked up at the kiss and cry to see his scores. He grimaced slightly at the scores and shrugged as he sit down onto the bench to take off his skates before making his way towards the audiences to see the others performances.

"Hey," called Viktor out to his protégé as he gave him his jacket, noticing the upset look on his face for his score, "Don't feel down. There's still the free program."

Tugging his shoelace firmly, he stood up from the bench and couldn't help but released a deep sigh in exhaustion as he took the offered jacket, "I know," he said, "I just disappoint that all."

"Is it you ankle?" Viktor asked, referring the slightly wobble during his landing on his second jump, "Do you need your painkiller?"

Ryuuji shook his head, denying the offer as he took his backpack beside the bench, "No. It's not that bad. Just a little sting here and there," answered the man as they made their way towards the audiences' seat next to Sara, Mickey and Emil.

"If it get worse, you'd tell me would you?" Viktor asked, facing the dark haired male beside him with his deep blue eyes gazed firmly into his deep green ones.

Meeting his gaze, Ryuuji nodded, placing his large warm hand on top of his as he gave him a squeeze, promising him he won't lie to him anymore about his injuries. Viktor nodded, satisfied with the answer and turned his attention towards his best friend, Chris as he shifted his hand slightly, winding their fingers together as they watched Chris's short program.

-.-.-

"A penny for you thought?"

A pair of deep green eyes blinked away from its daze and turned his head around towards the speaker. Viktor, who just come out from the shower and was wearing nothing but bathrobe covering his body, walked up to the black haired male and hummed absentmindedly as he looked at the man's face, "What's wrong?"

A tint of blush slowly emerged on the apple of Ryuuji's cheeks at his appearance as he shook his head to dismiss unwanted thought flashed inside his mind with his arms crossed firmly against his chest, "Nothing much," he said as he leaned his back against the glass window behind him, shifting his gaze away from the man before him, "Just thinking about the future that's all."

"What about it?"

He looked down onto the ground beneath him and couldn't help but sighed as he raised his head up towards his partner, hesitated as he told him his plan for the future, "I was thinking of quitting," he said, "I think it's time for me to retire fully. With the injuries and all, I don't think I could care about winning the gold anymore. I think I just want finish this and to give my very best before I disappeared into the shadow."

"Is that what really you want?" Viktor asked, eyes softened slightly in understand as he also had been thinking of quitting before being Ryuuji coach.

"Yeah," he nodded with a small sad smile adorned on his lips, "I'm not getting any younger."

Snorted at his spoken words, the Russian shook his head in amused and sent him a glare to hide the humour swirling inside his deep blue eyes, "You're just a few days younger than me," reminded Viktor to him as he crossed his arms against his chest, ignoring the water dripping from his hairs onto his shoulder, "We're basically the same age."

"More reason for me to quit then," he answered cheekily as he took a towel on his bed and placed it on top Viktor's head for him to dry his hairs.

The Russian took the towel off from his head and placed it down onto his shoulder to see the man face, "So," Viktor murmured, "What are you going to do after you quit?" he asked, using the towel offered by Ryuuji to dry his wet grey coloured hairs.

"I don't know," he shrugged, humming absently as he rethought of his plan for the future, "Maybe open a school for children to teach them how to ice skate and such," he murmured before a sudden unexpected thought appeared inside his head. A playful smirk instantly appeared of his face as the black haired male raised his gaze up and met his deep blue eyes with his green ones, saying "Or maybe I could move with you to Russia," as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down with a knowing look on his face.

Viktor snorted at the wiggle eyebrows' action given to him by his companion and crossed his arms against his chest with a smirk of his own adorned on his lips, asking, "Why?" as he looked at the younger man suspiciously.

"Well, I thought we're going to get marry or something?" he shrugged as he boldly placed both of his hand onto the man's waist, pulling the Russian closer with a seductive look upon his handsome face.

"Are you trying to propose me?"

"Maybe," answered the man nonchalantly, "But enough about me, what about you, Viktor?" he asked as the playful atmosphere that they had moments ago slowly changed into something more serious and deeper, "After all this, what are you going to do? Are you going to skate again?" he asked, questioning the older man about his future after the GPF.

Viktor frowned as his eyes began to darken in deep thought, "I don't know," he answered, withdrawing his arms back to his side as he looked up to face him, "I love skating but I just can't find the passion anymore. And I'm starting to think that I like coaching. So..."

"Well maybe you should. You know, being a coach and such," Ryuuji said, "If that's what you want then go for it. I mean, we make it this far right? Whatever happens, you'll always have my support."

Touched by his support, the former skater smiled and slowly wrapped his arms around the man's shoulder, hugging him close as he thanked him for his words, saying "As do you."

-.-.-

On the other side of the world somewhere early in the morning, the Katsuki household once again held another viewing party along with Nishigori family and their friends for the second half of the GPF. Yuuri, who was chatting with Phichit on his phone, lifted his dark gaze up from the screen of his phone and watched as the Japanese sport's report, Neijimura Madoka welcomed them back from the break after the Phichit's performance.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the second half of the Grand Prix Final. I'm your host, Neijimura Madoka bring you live from the Ice Arena, Barcelona, Spain. Our next contestant would be none other than our representative skater, Sakamoto Ryuuji with his free program entitled Flying Free."

Hearing the familiar name, the black haired male scooted closer towards the TV and glanced around him to see his family and friends huddled together to see Ryuuji-senpai. A hint of genuine smile slowly made its way onto lips at the sight as he looked around him, watching and admiring the closeness that they had among each other. It's like they were a big happy family. He shook his head to dismiss the thought and looked up once again to see his senior took a step into the ice rink, stretching while listening to Viktor's instruction and tips regarding his program. He nodded in understand and talking something back to the Russian before making his way to the centre of the ice.

Ryuuji stood in the middle of the rink and hung his head down in attempt of taking the mood he needed for his performance before raising it high up to the heavens, signalling the beginning of his program. As the music started to play, the dark haired man skated effortless through the ice, dancing as he took a few moments to gather enough speed for his jumps, the Quadruple Salchow.

Landed perfectly on his feet, the skater glided on the edge of the ice rink and did a backward crossover, taking a few moments for himself before doing the Triple Axel. The sound of slashing ice echoed softly inside the large ice rink as Ryuuji took off into the air, spinning three and a half time before landed steadily on his feet. The dark haired man skated away from the jump and did a combination spins to allow his ankle to rest for a moment since he felt a slight sting near the area of his once broken ankle.

Exiting the spins, Ryuuji travel halfway through the icy ground and lifted his gaze up to the audiences as he gave them a beautiful breath-taking smile upon his handsome face before continuing his program. He took a few distances for his jump and narrowed his deep green eyes determinedly as he did the quad flip, Viktor's signature move right in the climax of his program.

Nailing the high difficulty jumps, the dark haired skater lifted both of his arms up to show how balance he was during his landing and did the spread eagle neared the audiences and the judges as he turned his head to the side to see his coach standing by the entrance of the ice rink.

Viktor, who had been watching his famous signature jump being conquered flawlessly by his protégé, smiled and couldn't help but reduced to tears of joy, feeling happy for him to achieve such spectacular performance despite the struggle he knew he's suffering. His pair of deep blue eyes filled with nothing but proud and joy for Ryuuji as he continue to admire the dark haired man.

As the music started to end, Ryuuji skated gracefully to the middle of the ice rink and finished his free program with a dramatic pose, letting the deafening loud cheers of the audiences washed over him as he took a moment for himself. The dark haired man stood up into his full height and waved at the sea of people cheering him around the arena with a big genuine smile on his face. Bowing, he skated his way back to the entrance of the ice rink and looked up at a certain man stood firmly near the entrance, waiting for him.

The gray haired man lifted his deep sea blue eyes up into his deep green ones and let out a beautiful proud smile upon his face as he opened his arms widely to welcome him. He entered the said embrace and returned it with his own as he wrapped his pair of long arms around the petite male, "You did great!" he heard him said to him as the Russian hugging the man tightly against his chest before pulling away to see the look upon his student's face, "I'm so proud of you!"

Ryuuji smiled and whispered thank you to the man as they both looked up over the kiss and cry for the score.

"Ryuuji Sakamoto's free program skate score is: 221.58."

In that instant, a loud deafening cheer filled the air inside the Ice Arena as Ryuuji froze in surprised as well as disbelieved for the score. He did it! He actually did it! He managed to surpass Viktor. He broke Viktor's free skate world record.

Overwhelmed with joy, the Japanese male skater turned his attention to the man standing beside him and couldn't help but embraced him as he thanked him for everything he'd done for him to make him reach this far in life, "Thank you," he said, whispering gently into his ear as he tucked his face firmly against his shoulder, "Thank you so much for everything. I never thought I could do it."

A pair of deep sea blue eyes slowly softened at the spoken words as Viktor returned the hug and told him how proud he was for him. Hearing this, he pulled his face away from his shoulder and looked down at the older man with a genuine smile adorned on his lips, "Thank you."

With the final scores being announced, the first place went to none other than Yuri Plisetky with a score of 319.53, followed closely by Ryuuji with 319.41, Jean-Jacques with 300.62, Otabek with 293.41, Chris with 290.69 and lastly, Phichit with 289.56.

Ryuuji stood proudly on top of the podium and raised his hand to wave at the audiences, thanking them for their support as he leaned down for the GPF representative chairman to give him his silver medal. Despite not win the gold, he couldn't help but felt proud with him for his achievement, for finally achieve his goal, his dream to finish the GPF. Maybe, with this moment, he could finally retire for good.

After taking a few photos together along with the other contestants, the black haired male excused himself away from their group and headed up towards his coach who just finished being interviewed by Neijimura Madoka, the Japanese sports reporter.

Hearing upcoming footsteps heading their way, a pair of deep sea blue eyes instantly shifted his gaze away from the reporter towards his protégé and couldn't help but smiled as he greeted the second place winner, "Hey."

Ryuuji smiled in returned and lifted the medal up for Viktor to see with a hesitated look upon his face "I know, I promise you the gold," he said, "But, I guess this is the best I could get for you."

Viktor walked up towards the younger male and took the silver medal into his hand to see it. Touching the medal absently with his fingers, he raised his head up to him and murmured "I know and I also say I would kiss the gold medal if you won."

At this, a hint of redness began to appear on the apple of Ryuuji's cheek as he remembered the promise he made long time ago about him winning the gold. Licking his sudden dried lips lightly with the tips of his tongue, the black haired male ran his hand anxiously through his hairs and looked up to the older man before him, saying, "I know."

Suddenly, a strong tug pulled the man down from his full height and was surprised to feel a soft pair of lips touched his. A pair of deep green eyes instantly widened in surprised at the unexpected action and pulled away to see Viktor smiled cheekily at the surprise look upon Ryuuji's face, "But that doesn't mean I won't kiss the owner though," he answered as he kissed him once again.

-.-.-

 _ **Two years later...**_

-.-.-

The sound of slashing ice as well as children chattering filled the silence inside the ice rink as a tall older man with short black hair and a pair of deep green eyes watched his students practising the jumps he instructed to them moments ago from the side of the rink.

" _Teacher!"_ shouted a young boy in Russian to the older man.

The said teacher snapped his attention away from his thoughts and looked up to see one of his student called out to him, _"What is it Alexander?"_ he asked, frowning slightly as the child skated his way towards him.

" _I did it,"_ the boy exclaimed, excited as he gave his teacher a huge grin on his boyish face, _"I did the Triple Axel jump!"_

" _Show me."_

The boy nodded, nervous yet excited as he started to skate around for a moment to gather enough speed for the said jump. Narrowing his light blue eyes in determination, the boy placed his left feet firmly onto the ice and pushed his body up into the air, spinning his body for three times and half before landed shakily on his right feet.

A proud smile instantly craved its way onto his teacher's lips as he clapped his hand, congratulating the young boy for his success, _"Well done, Alex,"_ he said, smiling _, "How about you practise some more to better your landing?"_

" _Alright!"_

With that, the boy went back to his friends and told them the same thing he mentioned to his teacher. The black haired man sighed and couldn't help but noticed the vibrating phone on his pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked down onto the screen to see Viktor's name. Smiling, he swiped the green button and raised it up to his ear to hear his partner's voice, "Vitya."

" _Ryuu, where are you now?"_

"At the ice rink. Just watching the kids practising their Axel jumps," answered the man as he looked up to see his students skating around the ice, "How's your exhibition going?" he asked as he leaned against the cement barrier surrounded the rink, "Is Yuuri doing okay with the duet?"

" _Yeah, he's doing fine. He even managed to do the quad flip perfectly this time."_

"Haha... I know. I helped him practise for hours last night."

" _Ah...No wonder, you weren't there last night. I thought you're cheating on me or something."_

"Haha... don't worry, you're the one for me," answered Ryuuji cheekily to his partner as he turned his attention down to his watch to see the time, "Vitya. I'm leaving in a few minutes," he said as he shifted his deep green eyes to the kids, "I see you at the arena?"

" _Yeah, be careful."_

"Always."

Ended his call, he turned his attention back to his students and told them that their class was over, motioning for them to go home. The children bid their teacher goodbye and walked out from the ice rink, leaving the older man behind as he cleaned up the place before leaving. He locked the ice rink and tucked his cold hands deeply into the pocket of his trench coat as he walked down the sidewalk in Saint Petersburg.

It's been two years since the Grand Prix Final and his life couldn't be any better than this. He and Viktor started dating after the GPF and had been dating for a whole year before he finally had the courage to actually propose to the older man for real this time. He bought a real golden ring for both of them and told him that he would like to marry him as soon as they move to Russian. So, here they are, moving in together and are going to marry to each other in a few weeks.

After his retirement from skating, with a help from Viktor, Ryuuji managed to open a small school for children to learn ice skating here in Russia for about five months now. He had about fifteen students in total and is searching for a few trainers to help him with the kids. Sometimes, even Viktor would come on his free time to his class to help him.

"RYUUJI!"

Hearing a loud familiar voice calling out to him, the owner of the said name snapped his attention away from his thoughts and looked up from the ground beneath him to see none other than Viktor waiting for him in the distance. The Russian's deep blue eyes instantly light up at the man's presence and began waving his hand up to his fiancé to catch his attention. Smiling, Ryuuji fastened his pace and walked up to him, greeting the man with a soft chaste kiss upon his lips, saying, "I'm home,"

"...Welcome home."

-.-.-

 **The End**

-.-.-

A/N: Sadly, this is the end for One Step Closer. I really want to thank you all for supporting me and encouraging me to keep on writing and finally, finishing the story. Thank you so much. I really hope to see you guys again in another story soon. Until then, check out on my other stories and feel free to give any suggestion or comment for story you would like for me to write. Peace out...


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